ORDER :

The present case is taken up today through Video conferencing.

2. The present writ petition has been filed for quashing order dated 04.01.2021 (Annexure-3 to the writ petition) passed by the Circle Officer, Town, Ranchi (respondent no. 4) in Encroachment Case No. 01 of 2020-21 (Bara Talab, Ranchi) as well as notice of the same date i.e. 04.01.2021 (Annexure-4 to the writ petition) purportedly issued under Section 6(2) of the Bihar (now Jharkhand) Public Land Encroachment Act, 1956 (in short, “the Act, 1956”) by the said respondent directing the petitioner to remove the encroachment to the extent of 0.10 acre pertaining to. M.S. Plot no. 1624, Thana No. 205, P.S.- Kotwali, Village- Bara Talab Ranchi, District- Ranchi (hereinafter to be referred as “the said land”).

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the respondent no. 4 has passed the impugned order dated 04.01.2021 and has also issued the notice on the same date i.e. 04.01.2021 under Section 6(2) of the Act, 1956 exercising his power as Collector under the Act, 1956 without any application of mind and without ascertaining as to whether the said land is “public land” as defined under the Act, 1956. The respondent no. 4 has also not followed the procedure prescribed under the Act, 1956 and has hurriedly passed the said impugned order and thereafter issued the purported notice under Section 6(2) of the Act, 1956 directing the petitioner to remove the alleged encroachment to the extent of 10 decimals from the said land. In the light of order passed in a P.I.L. being W.P. (P.I.L.) No. 1463 of 2020 (pending before the learned Division Bench of this Court), the district administration appears to have constituted a team for inspection of encroachment over the land of “Bara Talab”. The said inspection team submitted the inquiry report, according to which it was found that the encroachments were made by different encroachers including the petitioner near “Bara Talab, Ranchi”. Subsequently, a notice in this regard was also issued to the petitioner on 07.11.2020 under Section 3 of the Act, 1956 by the respondent no. 4 directing it to appear before him on 24.11.2020. Thereafter, the petitioner, vide letter no. 316 dated 24.11.2020 (Annexure-2 to the writ petition), submitted its reply clearly stating inter alia that its building is situated on the other side of the road where “Bara Talab” is in existence. Moreover, the said building is situated there for last 60 years. The petitioner also stated in the reply that it has not at all encroached any part of plot no. 1624, Thana No. 205 as has been alleged. Irrespective of the said stand of the petitioner, the respondent no. 4, vide impugned order dated 04.01.2021, has held that different encroachers including the petitioner have encroached the government land, that too, without assigning any reason and in absence of any such fact on record for making such an observation. Accordingly, the notice purportedly issued under Section 6(2) of the Act, 1956 on the same date i.e. 04.01.2021 directing the petitioner to remove the encroachment within 14 days, is also bad in law.

4. Mr. Mohan Dubey, learned A.C. to A.G. appearing on behalf of the respondent nos. 1 to 4, submits that the respondents have initiated action against the encroachers of “Bara Talab Ranchi” in compliance of different orders of the learned Division Bench of this Court passed in W.P. (P.I.L.) No. 1463 of 2020 and therefore the initiation of Land Encroachment Case No. 01 of 2020-21 (Bara Talab Ranchi) by the respondent no. 4 against the said encroachers including the petitioner is justified. It is further submitted that since the petitioner could not produce any valid document in its defence to prove that the land in question is not a public land, the impugned order dated 04.01.2021 has been passed by the respondent no. 4 holding inter alia that the said land is government land.

5. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the content of the writ petition.