G.P. Singh, J. - 1. By this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution the petitioner seeks quashing of the order passed by respondents 1 to 4 relating to petitioner's ejectment under section 248 of the Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code, 1959.

2. The petitioner is running a Pan shop on a small piece of land measuring 15 square feet' which is part of a Nazul plot in Block No. 95 situated in Raipur town, the land in question is entered in the Maintenance, Khasra in the name of Director, Posts and Telegraphs, Nagpur, which shows that at some stage it was acquired for purposes of the Union Government. One of the contentions raised. by the petitioner in proceedings under section 248 was that the said; section was not applicable in respect of the lands belonging to the Central Government. The contention raised by the petitioner was negatived by, the Board of Revenue by its order dated 2nd September 1977 passed in the petitioner's revision. The Board of Revenue did not hold that the land did not belong to the Central Government. It rejected the petitioner's revision, on the view that section 248 applied also for ejectment of unauthorised-occupants' of lands belonging to the Central Government. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the view so taken by the Board is not correct in law.

3. Section 248 (1) of the Code in so far as relevant reads as follows:

"248. Penalty for unauthorisedly taking possession of land - (l). Any person who unauthorisedly takes or remains in possession of any un occupied land. abadi, service land or any land which bas been set apart for any special purpose under. section 237 or upon any land which is the property of Government may be summarily ejected by order of the Tahsildar and any crop which may be standing on the land and any, building or other work which he may have constructed thereon, if not removed by him within such time as the Tahsildar may fix shall be liable to forfeiture. Any property so forfeited shall be disposed of as the Tahsildar may direct and the costs of removal of any crop, building or other work, and of all works necessary to restore the land to its original condition shall be recoverable as an arrear of land revenue from him. Such person shall also be liable at the discretion of the Tahsildar to pay the rent of the land for the period of unauthorised occupation at twice the rate admissible for such land in locality and to a fine which may "extend to five thousand rupees and to a further fine which may extend to twenty rupees for every day on which such, unauthorised occupation or possession continues after the date of first ejectment. The Tahsildar may apply the whole of any part of the fine to compensate persons; who may in his opinion, have suffered loss or injury from the encroachment.”

4. A reading of the aforesaid section will show that it can be used for summary ejectment of a person who unauthorisedly takes or remains in possession of "any land which is the property 'of the Government." The section does not in terms say that the Government here means the State Government, but the context in which the section occures clearly shows that the word "Government" here is restricted to the State Government. The first indication in that respect is that the section makes no mention of any officer of the Central Government reporting to the Tahsildar for taking ejectament proceedings against a person in unauthorised occupation of land belonging to the Central Government. The Tahsildar may be expected to know about persons in unauthorised occupation of lands belonging to the State Government, but he will obviously have no complete record with him relating to lands belonging to the Central Government and the nature of occupation of persons of such lands. Had section 228 been intended to provide a machinery for ejectment of a person in unauthorised occupation or any land belonging to the Central Government, some provision would have been made in it for a report or information