The main legal principle established is that the Settlement Commissioner has the jurisdiction to examine the correctness of the R.O.R. published under Section 13(1) of the Consolidation Act by virtue of the deeming provision of sub-section (4) of Section 13 of the said Act.

JUDGMENT :

B.K. Nayak, J.?Order dated 27.01.1997 (Annexure-4) passed by the Commissioner, Land Records & Settlement, Orissa, Cuttack in R.P. Case No. 3437 of 1995 under Section 15 of the Orissa Survey and Settlement Act, 1958, has been assailed in this writ application. The present opposite party Nos. 2 to 5 filed R.P. Case No. 3437 of 1995 under Section 15 of the Orissa Survey and Settlement Act challenging the correctness of R.O.R. published under Section 13 of the Orissa Consolidation of Holdings and Prevention of Fragmentation of Land Act in respect of land under Khata No. 577 of mouza-Nuapada, Tahasil-Cuttack Sadar since in the R.O.R. the lands were recorded in favour of Subash Chandra Behera, the predecessor-in-interest of the writ petitioners to the exclusion of opposite party Nos. 2 to 5. By the impugned order, the revision was disposed of directing Tahasildar, Cuttack to include the names of the present opposite party Nos. 2 to 5 jointly with Subash Chandra Behera.

2. The learned counsel for the petitioners only challenges the jurisdiction of the Commissioner, Land Records and Settlement to entertain the revision and pass the impugned order. Undisputedly the R.O.R. in question was published under Section 13(1) of the Orissa Consolidation of Holdings and Prevention of Fragmentation of Land Act and soon thereafter an order by the State Government under sub-section (1) of Section 5 of the Consolidation Act was published cancelling Government notification under Section 3(1) of the said Act whereby the village in question had been brought under consolidation operation.

The contention of the learned counsel for the petitioners is that even though in terms of sub-section (4) of Section 13 of the Consolidation Act, the R.O.R. published under sub-section (1) of the said section be deemed to have been made under the Orissa Survey and Settlement Act because of order of de-notification issued under Section 5(1) of the Consolidation Act, since the R.O.R. has been published on determination of right, title and interest by the competent authorities under the Consolidation Act, it was only the Commissioner, Consolidation or the Director, Consolidation, who could have revisional jurisdiction under Section 37 of the Consolidation Act to decide the correctness, legality and propriety of the R.O.R. and the Commissioner of land records and settlement could not have entertained the revision since the authorities under the Orissa Survey and Settlement Act have no jurisdiction to decide the question of right, title and interest in land. His submission is that the deeming provision of Section 13(4) of the Consolidation Act does not confer jurisdiction on the Settlement Commissioner to decide the correctness of the R.O.R. published under Section 13(1) of the Consolidation Act. Extending his argument he submits that in view of Section 51 of the Consolidation Act investing jurisdiction on the Consolidation authorities and ousting the jurisdiction of the Civil Court to decide the question of right, title and interest in the land within the consolidation area and a publication of the R.O.R. under Section 13 of the Consolidation Act is based on the decision of the question relating to right, title and interest by the consolidation authorities, the Settlement Commissioner cannot sit on judgment over the said R.O.R. Drawing analogy from Section 22 of the Consolidation Act, he submits further that a final consolidation R.O.R. published under sub-section (1) of Section 22 of the Consolidation Act is also deemed to be an R.O.R. prepared under the Orissa Survey and Settlement Act as per sub-section (4) of Section 22 but the correctness of such R.O.R. can be subjected to scrutiny only by the revisional authority under the Consolidation Act and, therefore, for the same reason an R.O.R. published under Section 13(1) of the Consolidation Act may be scrutinized by the revisional authority under the said Act and not by the revisional authority under the Orissa Su