IMPORTANT POINT
The court clarified that revisions against orders of the Assistant Record Officer must be filed before the Record Officer, not the Commissioner, as per the U.P. Land Revenue Act.

JUDGMENT :

YOGENDRA KUMAR SRIVASTAVA, J.

1. Heard Sri Manu Mishra, learned counsel for the petitioner, Sri Munna Tiwari, appearing along with Sri Aniruddha Chaturvedi, learned counsel appearing for the respondent Nos. 5 and 6 and Sri Abhishek Shukla, learned Additional Chief Standing Counsel appearing for the State respondents.

2. The present petition has been filed seeking quashing of order dated 26.08.2021/27.08.2021, passed by the Survey Nayab Tahsildar, the order dated 25.05.2022, passed by the Assistant Record Officer, and the order dated 02.06.2023, passed by the Additional Commissioner (Judicial) IInd, Gorakhpur Division, Gorakhpur.

3. The facts of the case, as pleaded in the writ petition, are being set out herein-below.

4. The property in dispute is described as an agricultural property being Khata No. 364, Gata No. 103 to 109, area measuring 0.92 hectares, situate in Village Uttarashot, Tehsil Sadar, District Gorakhpur.

5. It is stated that after the death of the original tenure-holder, Smt. Maharaji, the name of the father of the petitioner, namely, Naresh, was recorded in the revenue records as ‘Sirdar’ on 29.03.1973.

6. Thereafter, pursuant to an order dated 26.08.2021, passed by the Survey Naib Tahsildar, the name of one Sambhu, the respondent No. 5, was mutated in the revenue records, on 27.08.2021.

7. In the meantime, the father of the petitioner, namely, Naresh, died and against the order dated 26.08.2021, passed by the Survey Naib Tahsildar, the petitioner preferred an appeal before the Assistant Record Officer, Gorakhpur, registered as Appeal No. 75 of 2021 (re-numbered as 1680) [Mahatam Vs. Sambhu], under Section 27(3) of the U.P. Land Revenue (Survey and Record Operations) Rules, 1978 [the Survey Rules]. The aforesaid appeal was dismissed by an order dated 25.05.2022.

8. Aggrieved with the aforesaid order dated 25.05.2022, the petitioner preferred a revision before the Commissioner, Gorakhpur Division, Gorakhpur, registered as Case No. 768 of 2022 [Mahatam Sharma Vs. Sabhu]. The revision was dismissed by order dated 02.06.2023, as being not maintainable.

9. Counsel for the petitioner has confined his challenge to the order passed by the revisional court on the question of maintainability of the revision.

10. Learned counsel has contended that the revisional court has erred in holding the revision to be not maintainable against the order passed by the Assistant Record Officer, under Rule 27(3) of the Rules 1978, whereas the said rule itself provides the remedy of revision, as contemplated under Section 219 of the U.P. Land Revenue Act, 1901 [the Land Revenue Act].

11. Counsel for the respondents has refuted the aforesaid submission by pointing out that in matters relating to survey and record operations, the Commissioner has no role, and it is for this reason that the revisional authority has held the revision to be not maintainable before the court of Commissioner.

12. Counsel for the respondents, however, does not dispute that the order dated 25.05.2022, passed by the Assistant Record Officer, would be subject to the remedy of a statutory revision, under Section 219, though not before the Commissioner, but before the Record Officer.

13. In order to appreciate the rival contentions, the relevant provisions under the Land Revenue Act, would be required to be referred.

14. Chapter IV of the Land Revenue Act relates to revision of maps and records, and it deals with survey and record operations. The record operations are to be notified by the State Government with the publication of a notification under Section 48, and upon the notification being issued, the area in question would be under survey and record operations, and all the powers regarding correction of revenue papers shall vest in the Record Officer or the Assistant Record Officer.

15. The provisions under Chapter IV of the Land Revenue Act relating to notification of Record Officers, appointment of Record Officers, powers of Record Officers, and other related provi