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2016 Supreme(All) 524
ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT
BEFORE : A.P. SAHI AND PRAMOD KUMAR SRIVASTAVA, JJ.
NOOR MOHD AND OTHERS ....Petitioners
Versus
ADDITIONAL COMMISSIONER, MEERUT DIVISION AND OTHERS ....Respondents
(Civil Misc. Writ Petition Nos. 5651, 4416 of 2009 and 60151 of 2014, decided on 6th May, 2016)
Counsel :
Shakti Dhar Dube, Javed Habib, Neeraj Dube and Vijay Pratap Singh for the Petitioners; C.S.C., V.K. Singh and Mahesh Narain Singh for the Respondents.
Headnote:U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950—Sections 195, 131-B and 198(4)—U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Rules, 1952—Rules 173,176, 174, 175 and 176-A—U.P. Land Revenue Act, 1901—Sections 33 and 39—Agricultural land—Lease of—Grant of—Under Gaon Sabha Management—Petitioners claim themselves to be allottees under a resolution dated 16.6.1984—Petitioners have brought as record Form 58-Ka and 58-Kha and such documents do bear the signatures of the Chairman of Land Management Committee, i.e., Gram Pradhan—SDM while passing the impugned order dated 31.5.2006 not supposed to exercise any summary jurisdiction of correction of records—Gram Pradhan moved objections in 2005 after twenty years for cancellation of alleged lease—Presumption of the continuous possession and the revenue records standing in the name of petitioners for 20 years long was sufficient to at least have a bearing on the same issue for which the petitioners were entitled to notice before alleged cancellation—Invalid or irregular proceedings are distinct from fake proceedings—Fraud and misrepresentation could not have been presumed behind the back—Single Judge not right in treating the proceedings to be a nullity on the mere assumption that the proceedings were fraudulent—Principles of natural justice violated. [Paras 23 to 46]
Result; Petition Allowed.
By the Court.—This Reference arises out of the difference of opinion expressed in the order dated 13.11.2014 by the learned Single Judge disagreeing with the final judgments arising out of the same impugned orders in Writ Petition Nos. 3029 of 2009, 9837 of 2009 and 58188 of 2012.
2. The dispute relates to grant of lease of agricultural land under the management of the Gaon Sabha under the provisions of the then existing Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950 [hereinafter referred to as ‘1950 Act’] with the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Rules, 1952. The provision that allowed such grant of leases under which the aforesaid proceedings were undertaken is Section 195 of the then 1950 Act. Section 195 of the 1950 Act reads as follows :
“Section 195. Admission to land.—The Land Management Committee with the previous approval of the Assistant Collector incharge of sub-division shall have the right to admit any person as bhumidhar with non-transferable right to any land (other than land falling in any of the classes mentioned in Section 132) where—
(a) the land is vacant land,
(b) the land is vested in the Gaon Sabha under Section 117, or
(c) the land has come into the possession of Land Management Committee under Section 194 or under any other provisions of this Act.”
3. All the petitioners claim themselves to be allottees under a resolution dated 16.6.1984. The photostat copy and the typed copy of the said resolution that has been recorded in the Proceedings Register of the Gaon Sabha have been filed on record and it appears that the said proceedings were attended and signed by 10-members including the then Gram Pradhan, who was also the Chairman of the Land Management Committee. It also bears the seal and signature of the Gram Pradhan of the same date.
4. The aforesaid resolution according to the petitioners was forwarded to the Sub-Divisional Magistrate/Assistant Collector who vide order dated 2.7.1984 is said to have approved the said proposal consequent whereto the petitioners were recorded in the revenue records on the strength of leases so approved and are in continuous possession thereafter. The respective forms of the leases of some of the petitioners as contemplated under Form 57-Kha and Form 58-Ka have also been brought on record which are only photostat copies. However, the contention of all the petitioners is that after approval their names were duly entered in the revenue records, namely, Khatauni (record of rights) and copies of the relevant Khataunis to evidence the same have also been filed on record.
5. The provision of Section 131-B of the 1950 Act came into force w.e.f. 14.1.1995. The same is extracted hereunder :
“131-B. Bhumidhar with non-transferable rights to become bhumidhar with transferable rights after ten years—(1) Every person who was a bhumidhar with non-transferable rights immediately before the commencement of the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms (Amendment) Act, 1995 and had been such bhumidhar for a period of ten years or more, shall become a bhumidhar with transferable rights on such commencement.
(2) Every person who is a bhumidhar with non-transferable rights on the commencement referred to in sub-section (1) or becomes a bhumidhar with non-transferable rights after such commencement, shall become bhumidhar with transferable rights on the expiry of period of ten years from his becoming a bhumidhar with non-transferable rights.
(3) Notwithstanding anything in any other provision of this Act, if a person, after becoming a bhumidhar with transferable rights under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), Transfers the land by way of sale, he shall become ineligbile for a lease of any land vested in Gaon Sabha or the State Government or of surplus land as defined in the Uttar Pradesh Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1960.”
6. The petitioners allege that most of them had already been granted full Bhumidhari rights which is the
