Property cannot be claimed without valid documentation of acquisition and transfer; dispossession without due process violates constitutional rights.

JUDGMENT :

A.C. BEHERA, J.

1. This writ petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, 1950 has been filed by the petitioners praying for quashing the impugned order dated 10.01.2023 (Annexure-16) passed in SRP No.47 of 2020 by the learned Land Reforms Commissioner, Odisha, Board of Revenue, Cuttack(Opposite Party No.3).

2. The factual backgrounds of this writ petition, which prompted the petitioners for filing the same is that, the Opposite Party No.7 of this writ petition, i.e., Rabindindra Kumar Swain being the petitioner had filed the SRP No.47 of 2020 before the Land Reforms Commissioner, Odisha, Board of Revenue, Cuttack(Opposite Party No.3) praying for recording the case land in his favour on the ground that, he is one of the successors of the Sabik recorded tenants of the case land and the RoR of the case land has been published wrongly/erroneously in the last Hal settlement of the year 1984 in the name of the Paradip Port Trust without any basis stating specifically that, the Hal RoR of the case land published in the name of Paradip Port Trust is baseless and illegal.

3. After hearing from both the sides, the Land Reforms Commissioner, Odisha, Board of Revenue, Cuttack(Opposite Party No.3), passed the final order on dated 10.01.2023 (Annexure-16) in SRP No.47 of 2020 under Section 15 (b) of the OSS Act, 1958 and allowed that, SRP No.47 of 2020 filed by the petitioner(Opposite Party No.7 in this writ petition) and directed Tahasildar, Kujang(Opposite Party No.5 in this writ petition) to correct of the RoR of the case land from the name of Paradip Port Trust in favour of the petitioner through field enquiry and on verification of the related documents following due process of law assigning the reasons that, “The case land vide Hal Plot No.51 A.8.75 decimals under Hal Khata No.01 in Mouza-Bhitaragada corresponds to Sabik Plot No.47 under Sabik Khata No.49. The Sabik RoR of the case land vide Khata No.49 Plot No.47 was recorded in the names of the predecessors of the petitioner, i.e., in the name of Sadei Sahoo and others. After the death of Sabik recorded tenants, i.e., Sadei Sahoo and others, the case land devolved upon their successors including the petitioner, but, in the final RoR of Hal settlement, the case land was recorded erroneously in the name of Paradip Port Trust under Hal Khata No.01 Plot No.51 without any document of transfer of title either from the predecessors of the petitioner or from the petitioner, for which, the recording of the case land in the Hal Settlement of the year 1984 under Hal Khata No.01 and Hal Plot No.51 in the name of Paradip Port Trust is illegal and erroneous.

On verification of the Revenue records and the materials, the Opposite Party No.3, as per impugned order dated 10.01.2023 in SRP No.47 of 2020 passed order for recording the case land in favour of the petitioner correcting the same from the name of Paradip Port Trust through field enquiry and on verification of the related documents following due process of law.”

4. On being aggrieved with the above impugned order dated 10.01.2023(Annexure-16) passed in SRP No.47 of 2020 by the Land Reforms Commissioner, Odisha, Board of Revenue, Cuttack(Opposite Party No.3), the Paradip Port Trust and its officers filed this writ petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, 1950 challenging the above impugned order dated 10.01.2023(Annexure-16) passed in SRP No.47 of 2020 by the Opposite Party No.3 praying for quashing the same on the ground that, the case land vide Hal Khata No.51 under Hal Khata No.1 was duly acquired from the predecessors of the Opposite Party