JUDGMENT :

The present writ petition has been filed for issuance of direction upon the respondents not to use the petitioner’s land appertaining to Khata No. 1/44, Plot No. 68/142, Mouza-Bela Tand, Old Ward No. 7, New Ward No. 14, P.S-Koderma (now Tilaiya), P.S No. 246, District-Koderma, measuring an area of 08 Decimals (out of total area of 16 Decimals) [hereinafter referred as ‘the said land’] without lawfully acquiring the same as the said land was purchased by her husband-Late Balkrishan Prasad by virtue of registered sale deed No. 3515 dated 05.05.1993, mutation of which was done vide order dated 04.07.1994 passed in Mutation Case No. 243(II) of 1994-95.

2. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the said land measuring a total area of 16 Decimals was settled by the then landlord in favour of one Jagarnath Ram, son of Jodhan Ram by way of Hukumnama in the year 1925 and subsequently the said settlee sold the same to Sarojani Wasini Biswas by way of registered sale deed dated 30.03.1951. After the death of Sarojani Wasini Biswas, her husband, namely, Lalit Mohan Biswas inherited the said land who further sold the same to Manju Devi Jain vide registered sale deed dated 18.06.1980. Thereafter, out of total 16 Decimals land, 8 Decimals of land was sold by Manju Devi Jain to the petitioner’s husband, namely, Bal Krishan Prasad by way of registered sale deed dated 05.05.1993 and Jamabandi of the said land was opened in his name in Register-II vide Mutation Case No. 243(II) of 1994-95 and he also paid the due rent of the said land for the year 1982-83 to 1994-95. However, the Circle Officer, Koderma stopped issuing rent receipt after 1994-95 and in the meantime, the petitioner’s husband died.

3. In such circumstance, the petitioner filed a writ petition being W.P.(C) No. 374 of 2018 before this Court for issuance of rent receipt with respect to the said land. The said writ petition was dismissed as withdrawn vide order dated 27.06.2019 giving liberty to the petitioner to approach the competent Court of Civil jurisdiction for adjudication of her title, if she so wishes. Pursuant to the said order, the petitioner approached the respondent No.3 as well as the Circle Officer, Koderma with all the relevant documents. Thereafter, the Circle Officer, Koderma issued rent receipts from the year 1994-95 to 2022-23 on different dates.

4. However, the respondent-Jhumritilaiya Nagar Parishad subsequently, in the garb of beautification of a pond situated in Indrapuri Mohalla (Ward No. 25), started demolishing the boundary wall constructed by the petitioner over the said land as well as the boundary wall constructed by the adjacent raiyats over the Plot No. 68/225. Aggrieved with the same, the petitioner along with other adjacent raiyats filed a joint representation before the respondent No.2 and the respondent No.3 on 13.11.2018 & 07.03.2019 respectively. The petitioner again filed a representation before the respondent No.2 on 28.01.2021, however, nothing was done.

5. Learned counsel for the petitioner also submits that the action of the respondents in interfering with the possession of the petitioner over her residential land without taking recourse of the provisions of land acquisition is wholly illegal. Once the rent receipts for the said land were issued in the name of the petitioner/her husband (since deceased), they got the status of the raiyat of the same and hence she cannot be evicted from the said land without lawful acquisition and payment of compensation in lieu thereof.

6. On the contrary, learned counsel for the respondent-State of Jharkhand submits that there is a pond situated within the jurisdiction of Jhumritilaiya Nagar Parishad (hereinafter referred to as ‘the said Parishad’) within Ward No. 7 on ‘’Gair Majarua’’ land which needed protection and hence the said Parishad has demarcated the periphery of the pond for its beautification as well as for the benefit of the people residing in the locality. A direction was issued