The principles of natural justice require that recorded tenure holders must be afforded an opportunity of hearing before their names are expunged from revenue records.

JUDGMENT

Dinesh Pathak, J.

Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned Standing Counsel for the State-respondents.

2. In view of the peculiar facts and circumstances of the present case and order proposed to be passed herein under, this Court proceeds to decide the instant writ petition at admission stage with the consent of learned counsel for the petitioner and learned Standing Counsel for the State respondents without calling for their respective affidavits.

3. Petitioner is aggrieved with the ex-parte order dated 01.08.2023 passed by Consolidation Officer (respondent no.5) behind his back sans opportunity of hearing accorded to him, consequently, he has been deprived of from his valuable right, title, interest and possession over the land in question.

4. Perusal of record, as available, reveals that Assistant Consolidation Officer has submitted ex-parte report dated 01.08.2023 for expunging the name of recorded persons from plot Nos.300, 318, 357, 385, 387, 409, 422, 452, 453, 456, 524, 537, 840, 951, 953, 955, 954-kha, 962, 963, 972 and 983 total 21 plots area 135 bigha 10 biswa (34.271 hectare) which had allegedly been recorded in Clause 5-3 kha(1) as jungle jhadi. Consolidation Officer, without giving notice to the recorded persons, who are adversely affected owing to the aforesaid report, has passed the order impugned dated 01.08.2023 expunging the name of all the recorded persons from the aforesaid plots. Present petitioner is also one of the affected person owing to the order impugned dated 01.08.2023. It is a specific case of the present petitioner that neither any notice has been issued to the recorded tenure holders including the present petitioner nor opportunity of hearing had been accorded to them before passing the order dated 01.08.2023, which is under challenge before this Court.

5. Having considered the rival submissions advanced by learned counsel for the parties and perusal of record, it is manifested that order impugned dated 01.08.2023 has been passed on the basis of the report of the same date i.e. 01.08.2023 submitted by Assistant Consolidation Officer. There is no whisper in the order impugned qua issuance of notice to the affected persons, who are recorded tenure holder over the plot in question or affording them opportunity of hearing before passing ex-parte order dated 01.08.2023. It is own finding returned by Consolidation Officer that several persons were recorded in the revenue record over the plot in questing being a bhumidhar with transferable right or bhumidhar with non transferable right. Learned Consolidation Officer has treated the land in question as public utility land, which was allegedly recorded as jungle jhadi, under Section 77 of U.P. Revenue Code, 2006 (akin to Section 132 of U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act) and, accordingly, passed order to expunge the names of recorded persons.

6. On the pointed query raised to the learned Standing Counsel qua opportunity of hearing being accorded to the recorded tenure holders, whose name have been ordered to be expunged from the revenue record in pursuance of the order impugned dated 01.08.2023, he has shown his inability to contradict the submissions made by learned counsel for the petitioner. Order impugned evince that ex-parte proceeding has been initiated and decided against the present petitioner and other co-tenure holder on the date of report itself sans opportunity of hearing accorded to them. It is abundantly clear that recorded tenure holders are adversely affected owing to violation of natural justice and fair play. In this regard, considering the opportunity of hearing before expunging the name of recorded tenure holders from the record, this Court has already expounded in the batch of cases, leading Writ-B No.2093 of 2021 (Fakira and 12 others v. State of U.P. and 4 others), decided on 18.08.2022, that opportunity of hearing must be accorded to the recorded tenure holders before expunging their name from the r