Hon’ble Sudhanshu Dhulia, J.

1. Heard Mr. Sudhir Kumar, Advocate for the petitioners, Mr. R.C. Arya, Standing Counsel for the State of Uttarakhand and Mr. T.P.S. Takuli, Advocate for respondent nos. 3 to 10.

2. In village Dhandha, Tehsil Kichcha, District Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand, there are agricultural plots being plot No. 58A measuring 176 “bigha” and 13 “biswa” and Plot No. 58 C measuring 56 “bigha”. This land admittedly belongs to the State Government and is recorded in revenue records as category five (“Navin Prati”). Regarding this there is no dispute. According to the petitioners, their father was in possession of this land since 1950-5 1, although no evidence to this effect has been placed before this Court. Petitioners further state that neither their father nor they were ever evicted from this land and they are in peaceful possession of this land since the death of his father on 17.11.1985. The petitioners also contend that in the year 1975, the erstwhile Government of Uttar Pradesh (when Uttarakhand was a part of erstwhile State of Uttar Pradesh) formulated a scheme for regularization of unauthorizedly occupied public land. According to the scheme, the occupant had to pay certain amount as premium to the Government and upon such payment, the possession of the occupant was to be regularized and a “patta” or a lease was to be executed in his favour.

3. Admittedly the petitioners and even their father were unauthorized occupants on a State property. The fact remains that the land in question was never regularized in favour of the petitioners or their father. In fact as late as on 12.8.2005 the request of the petitioners for regularisation of such land in their favour was rejected by the Additional Collector, Udham Singh Nagar stating that the concerned land in Village Dhandha, Tehsil Kichcha, having Khasra No. 58A as well as 58C are recorded as category “five” land and this category of land cannot be regularized in their favour.

4. Subsequently, the petitioners also preferred a Writ Petition No. 1186 of 2005 (M/B) before this Court. In the said writ petition, a Division Bench of this Court held as under :

“4. In our opinion the land is agricultural land and the petitioners being unauthorized occupants over the land in question, Bhumidhar of which plot was Sri Maharaj Singh and it appears that Sri Maharaj Singh was P.C.S. Officer posted in the area and he got the land recorded in his name. Thereafter he allowed the petitioners to be in possession of the land in question. Petitioners are the sons of the Sri Maharaj Singh. It has been disputed by the State that the petitioners are the sons of Sri Maharaj Singh. However in the revenue records petitioners’ name were entered as unauthorized occupants and proceedings against Sri Maharaj Singh, who died in 1985, were pending. Thus it is proved that the land belonged to the State Government and no lease was granted to the petitioners under the Government Grants Act. Petitioners were unauthorized occupants of the land in question since the land was agricultural land, therefore, the suit was barred by Section 331 of the U.P.Z.A. & L.R. Act. Thus the judgment and order passed by the Civil Judge (Senior Division), Nainital is without jurisdiction and void.”

5. All the same, the Division Bench while deciding the said writ petition on the plea of the petitioners that they have never been evicted, disposed of the petition by passing the following orders :

“The petitioners claim themselves to be sons of Sri Maharaj Singh though it is denied by the State Government, the District Magistrate is directed to consider the application of the petitioners for regularization of the land within the ceiling limit treating Sri Maharaj Singh to be in unauthorized possession over the land in question, if the possession has not taken over in 1984 before his death. If there is any evidence that the possession was taken over from Sri Maharaj Singh prior to his death then the petitioners s