The inclusion of land in the prohibited list of NGDRS without due process violates principles of natural justice and affects property rights, requiring adherence to legal procedures.

JUDGMENT :

Deepak Roshan, J.

Heard learned counsel for the parties.

2. The instant writ petition has been filed, inter alia, for quashing of the order dated 11th of November 2022, passed by Respondent No. 2, whereby the representation of the petitioner that the land situated at Mouza-Dhansar, Mouza No. 52 under Khata No. 30, Plot No. 203(p) admeasuring an area of 5.53 decimal may be removed from the prohibited list of National Generic Document Registration System (hereinafter referred to as ‘NGDRS’) has been rejected. The Petitioner has further sought issuance of a direction upon the competent authority for taking steps for removing the land of the Petitioner from the prohibited list of NGDRS.

3. The brief facts of the case are that the land of the petitioner situated at Mouza-Dhansar, Mouza No. 52 under Khata No. 30, Plot No. 203(p) admeasuring an area of 5.53 decimal was purchased by the Petitioner for valuable consideration through a registered sale deed dated 31st of March 1989, based on the registered sale deed the land was settled in favour of one Hari Prasad Aggarwal vide a registered patta bearing number 1167 of 1948. After the demise of Hari Prasad Aggarwal, his legal heir namely, Lalit Kishore Agarwalla sold the land to one Lalita Bhanote, who thereafter, sold the land to the Petitioner. Pursuant to the registration of the sale deed a dakhil kharij Case No. 2339 (III) 2007-08 was filed by the Petitioner for mutation to be carried out in her favour. After a proper enquiry, the application of the mutation was allowed vide order dated 24th of December 2007 (Annexure-2). Pursuant to the order dated 24th of December 2007, corrections were made in Register-II and the Petitioner thereafter has been regularly paying rent. The last revenue receipt was issued in favour of the Petitioner on 18th of May 2021 (Annexure-3).

The case of the petitioner is that she wants to dispose of the land for her personal need and as such found a purchaser for the same. However, when she approached the office of the Registrar for the purpose of executing a sale deed, she was informed that the sale of the land was ‘locked’ as the land was in the prohibited list of NGDRS. The Petitioner was informed that the nature of the land was ‘Gair Abad’ and as such the same could not be sold.

As soon as, the Petitioner came to know about her land being listed in the ‘prohibited list’, she immediately filed an application being Miscellaneous Case No. 08 of 2021. The Respondent conducted an enquiry into the land and concluded that the land was ‘Gair Abad Malik’ in nature. It was further stated that though the mutation was done in the favour of the Petitioner and prior to that the mutation was also running in the name of her predecessor-in-interest i.e. Lalita Bhanote, no documents with respect to the same was available (Annexure-6). Considering the above report, the application of the Petitioner being Misc Case No. 8 of 2021 was rejected vide order dated 11th of November 2021 holding that in absence of the document of the mul jamabandi, the mutation running in the name of the Petitioner was already marked as ‘suspicious’ vide an order dated 19th of May 2012 (Annexure-6) and as land of the Petitioner could not be taken off the ‘prohibited list’. Hence this writ petition.

4. Mr. Prashant Pallav, learned Counsel for the Petitioner, in backdrop of the facts stated in the foregoing paragraph has submitted that the action of the Respondent-State to put the property in the ‘prohibited list’ in the NRDGS is a colourable exercise of power by the State. It is established law that what the State cannot do directly it cannot do indirectly. In the case at hand, the State has no authority to annul a long-standing jamanbandi which is running in the name of the Petitioner and prior to her in the name of her predecessor-in-interest. The land was settled in the name of the predecessor-in-interest in 1948 vide registered patta bearing number 1167 of 1948. He further submits that the mu