The finality of the Special Officer's decision under the Wakafs Act, 1978, and the overriding effect of the Act over other laws were central to the court's decision.

ORDER :

1. The petitioners in the instant petition, filed under Article 226 of the Constitution, have implored for the following reliefs:-

“Issue of writ of certiorari quashing SRO 95 dated 19.03.1981 to the extent of land measuring 2 kanals 3 marlas under Khasra No. 172 old (new, after settlement Khasra No. 265) in Village Thikirian, Tehsil R. S. Pura, having been wrongly notified as Wakaf Property; and for appropriate writ, order or direction, to quash reports of Respondents No. 2 & 3 and order of Tehsildar Settlement dated 01.07.2003 along with endorsement made by Patwari in pursuance of the same in the Revenue record on 02.07.2003.”

2. The facts under the shade and cover of which the aforesaid reliefs have been prayed are that the respondent 6 herein, namely, Behari Lal being a refugee of 1947 had been allotted an evacuee land measuring 2 kanals 3 marlas covered under Survey No. 172 (old), 265 (new) situated at Village Thikirian, Tehsil R.S. Pura pursuant to Govt. Order No. 578/C of 1954 followed by attestation of Mutation No. 13 dated 29.02.2000 conferring occupancy rights on him pursuant to Section 3-A of the J&K Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976 (for short “the Act of 1976”)

3. It is being stated that the petitioners herein purchased the occupancy rights of the said land measuring 2 kanals 3 marlas from the said respondent 6 herein vide sale-deed dated 06.04.2000, whereupon Mutation No. 14 dated 10.04.2000 came to be attested in their favour (hereinafter for short “the land in question”).

4. It is being next stated that in the 1st week of October, 2003, the petitioners came to know that an endorsement had been made in the relevant revenue records being girdawari register of Rabi/Kharif 2003 pursuant to the order of Tehsildar/ respondent 5 herein dated 01.07.2003 to the effect that the land in question stands notified as Wakaf property vide SRO-95 dated 19.03.1981, under the provisions of Wakafs Act, 1978 (for short “the Act of 1978”) whereupon the petitioners obtained said girdawari and consequently moved an application before the Tehsildar/respondent 5 herein for obtaining a copy of said order dated 01.07.2003 referred in the girdawari, followed by similar applications filed before the respondents 2 & 3 herein which, however, were not furnished to the petitioners, though the petitioners obtained a copy of said SRO-95, without any annexures in order to know about the position of the land in question.

5. It is being further stated that the land in question neither has not been notified under law in the SRO-95 nor was the said position reflected in the relevant revenue records till July, 2003.

6. The petitioners, thus, have maintained the instant petition, inter-alia, on the grounds that SRO-95 is illegal and without any jurisdiction qua the land in question and that no enquiry whatsoever have had been made under Section 4 of the Act of 1978 nor a report of Special Officer have had been made in respect of the land in question or else decision taken by the said Special Officer qua the land in question and that even the consultation by the Govt. in the matter did not exist on the record pertaining to the land in question, as the land in question have had been allotted to a displaced person who under the provisions of Section 3-A of the Act of 1976 acquired possessory rights thereof and consequently sold the same to the petitioners and that the petitioners do not have any efficacious remedy available in the matter except to file the instant petition.

7. Objections to the petition have been filed by the respondent 3, wherein, it is being stated that the land in question is a notified land under the Act of 1978 and infact used to be taken by the petitioner 1 – Baldev Singh and his father Sant Singh from Kharief 1994 upto Rabi 1997 from the answering respondent on auctions.

8. It is being further stated in the objections that the then Patwari & Tehsildar wrongly and deliberately converted the land in question into evacuee land and attested fa