Section 22-A of the Registration Act, 1908 is unconstitutional as it violates Articles 14 and 246 of the Constitution, invalidating related notifications.

JUDGMENT :

(M.S. Ramachandra Rao, C.J.)

1. This Public Interest Litigation is filed by the petitioner for the following reliefs:-

(A) For the direction upon the respondent no. 6 Anti-Corruption Bureau to register FIR against these District Sub-registrars who have deliberately with a criminal motive just for earning an illegal money has contravened the directives of the Revenue Department and of the District Sub-registrar and have become carrier of illegal transaction of the government land and that all those lands whose transfer is prohibited even in the CNT Act also. And also submit the status report after custodial of these District Sub Registrars who are posted in various District Sub-Registrar office by the directives given by the DC, IG Registrar and the Revenue Secretary, they are indulging in mass corruption in transfer of the government land.

(B) For the direction upon the respondent no. 1 to file an affidavit before this Court explaining as to how much money these District Sub Registrar have earned while they transfer the land of khata no. 383 situated in Pundag area of Ranchi and even after repeated directions given by the Government these lands have been transferred to different persons and it has been done by the District Sub Registrar by taking huge bribe.

(C) For the direction upon the respondents specially respondent no. 1 and 2 to institute a high level committee which will enquire into the registration of the land of the prohibited list prepared by government of Jharkhand as the land belong to the state government and in its entirety these are public land and used only for public purposes but the District Sub Registrar like Ranchi, Hehal, Hinoo and Kanke all are registering the land to the private people out of that list.

(D) For the direction upon the respondents to submit before this Hon'ble Court as to how much land has been left out of the government land whose thana no. and khata no. mentioned in the prohibited list and what action they have taken till date against those who have registered the land from the prohibited list without adopting due process or without any authority of law contravening the notification of the government notification to the government revenue department issued by the sign of the secretary and it has been informed to all the Circle Officer, IG registration, and Principle General Accountant Office, Jharkhand so that these authorities may not contravene the directive of the government as the land like the nature of Gair Majurwa Khas land Gair Majurwa Malik land, Forest Land, Kaiser-e-hind Land and Jungle Jhar land whose name finds place in the notification of 2015 and subsequently the IG registration in the year 2019-20 has strictly warned the District Sub-Registrar that they should not contravene the directives of the Revenue Department while registering the land and they should also verify whether the land belongs to the State of Jharkhand whose name find place in the prohibited list or land like the nature of Gair Majurwa Khas land Gair Majurwa Malik land, Forest Land, Kaiser-e-hind Land and Jungle Jhar land etc.

(E) For the direction upon the respondent to remove the encroachments from khata no. 383 where the entire colony in the name of Ilahi Nagar has been constructed in front of the District Authorities who have closed their eyes and allowed such encroachers to construct their houses and in these houses most of them are either from the Bangladesh origin or Rohingya background.

2. According to the petitioner, he is a citizen of India and has no personal interest, directly or indirectly, save and except public interest.

3. According to the petitioner, the State Government had not bothered in the past to protect public lands and so, encroachers of public lands have constructed hundreds of houses in Government lands in Khata No.383 Gairmazarua Malik. He contends that senior officers in Jharkhand are responsible for taking out the land from the prohibited list under Section 22-A of the Re