The court reinstated the classification of the petitioner's land as unirrigated Class-IV, rejecting the Board of Revenue's baseless classification as Class-II based on irrigation claims.

JUDGMENT :

ANANDA CHANDRA BEHERA, J.

1. This writ petition has been filed by the petitioner praying for quashing the final order dated 30.08.2010 (Annexure-2) passed in OLR Revision No.59 of 2003 by the Opposite Party No.1(Member, Board of Revenue, Orissa, Cuttack).

2. The factual backgrounds of this writ is that, a ceiling case vide OLR Case No.16 of 1974 was initiated by the Opposite Party No.4 (Revenue Officer-cum-Tahasildar, Rayagada) against the petitioner alleging possession of ceiling surplus land i.e. more than 10 standard acres having total area of Ac.32.91 cents under Khata No.41 in village Barijholla by her (petitioner) in the District of Rayagada recorded in her name.

In that OLR Case No.16 of 1974, the petitioner submitted objection denying possession of any ceiling surplus land stating that, the land possessed by her under Khata No.41 in Mouza-Barijholla are all unirrigated class-IV dry land and the Kisam/status of the properties under Khata No.41 has been indicated by the settlement authorities as dry land, but erroneously the Opposite Party No.4 has stated to the said properties as Class-II land instead of Class-IV land. There is no irrigation facility to the said land from the Rayagada Gedda Irrigation Project. For which, at any cost, the land under Khata No.41 in village Barijholla in the name of the petitioner cannot be treated as Class-II land, but in fact, the said land under Khata No.41 are all Class-IV land. The petitioner has further stated in her objection that, the properties under Khata No.41 being dry land, crops like Arhar Dal (Kandula) was cultivating in some of the plots of that Khata No.41 till the establishment of Jeypore Sugar Company and some of the plots thereof were lying fallow. After establishment of Jeypore Sugar Company, the petitioner raised sugarcane in some of the plots in Khata No.41, which is yielding 3 crops in a period of 4 years and as such, there is no one crop in one year in any portion of the properties covered under Khata No.41. For which, all the properties covered under Khata No.41 are class- IV land, but not Class-I, Class-II or Class-III. Any land under Khata No.41 cannot be treated as irrigated as per Section 2(13) of the OLR Act, 1960 as there is no assured source of irrigation facility to the said land from any irrigation project of Central Government or State Government or any private source of lift irrigation from any perennial water source to the same. In spite of that, the Revenue Officer-cum-Tahasildar, Rayagada passed final order on dated 20.02.1976 in that OLR Case No.16 of 1974 holding that, all the properties covered under Khata No.41 in Mouza-Barijholla in the name of the petitioner as class-II land and the petitioner is in possession of ceiling surplus land and the amount of ceiling surplus land is Ac.16.41 decimals and directed to take possession of the said ceiling surplus land i.e. Ac.16.41 decimals from the petitioner.

3. On being dissatisfied with the said Order dated 20.02.1976 passed by the Revenue Officer-cum-Tahasildar, Rayagada (Opposite Party No.4) in OLR Case No.16 of 1974, the petitioner preferred an appeal vide OLR Appeal No.16 of 1976 under Section 58 of the OLR Act before the A.D.M. Rayagada (Opp. Party No.2), but that OLR Appeal of the petitioner was dismissed on dated 12.07.1976.

Then, she (petitioner) filed revision under Section 59 of the OLR Act vide O.L.R. Revision No.74 of 1976 against the dismissal order passed in OLR Appeal No.16 of 1976, but the said O.L.R. Revision was also dismissed.

4. Thereafter, the petitioner filed writ petition vide O.J.C. No.2164 of 1981 challenging the said dismissal order of t