A statutory authority is obligated to decide applications within a reasonable timeframe; inordinate and unexplained delay in exercising jurisdiction is arbitrary and warrants judicial direction for time-bound disposal.

Digitally signed 2026:CGHC:16550 by SHAYNA KADRI NAFR

Order on Board

(Cause Title is taken from CIS System)

1. The petitioner has filed this writ petition seeking following reliefs :

“a) Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction directing Respondent No. 3 Collector, Surguja, to decide the petitioner's application for grant of permission to sell rehabilitation land under Section 165(7-B) of the Chhattisgarh Land Revenue Code, dated 28.02.2023, which is pending since three years, within a stipulated time frame, preferably within an outer limit of 15 days;

b) Pass any other order or direction which this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case, in the interest of justice.”

2. The facts of the present case, as emerging from the pleadings and documents placed on record, are that the petitioner is the recorded owner and in possession of agricultural land situated at Village Chathirma, Thana Gandhinagar, Tehsil Ambikapur, District Surguja (Chhattisgarh), bearing Khasra Nos. 352 and 374/1 admeasuring 0.3400 hectare and 0.1400 hectare respectively, totaling 0.4800 hectare. The said land came into the possession of the petitioner through a family partition, and the petitioner is engaged in cultivation over the same. It is further the case of the petitioner that the aforesaid property devolved upon him by way of succession from his father, late Birendra Mandal, and since then, the petitioner has been in continuous possession and enjoyment of the same. The petitioner’s name is duly recorded as Bhumiswami/landowner and occupant in the revenue records. It is also stated that the land in question was originally allotted to the petitioner’s father under a rehabilitation lease by the Rehabilitation Department, Government of India, in Revenue Case No. 93/A- 19/1998-99, and thereafter, the same devolved upon the petitioner through family partition. The petitioner submits that due to pressing financial needs, including repayment of loans incurred for the medical treatment of his wife and for supporting the business of his son, he decided to sell a portion of the said land, namely Khasra No. 352 measuring 0.3400 hectare (85 dismil). Accordingly, the petitioner entered into an agreement to sell the said land for a total consideration of Rs. 10,00,000/-, out of which an advance amount of Rs. 8,00,000/- has already been received, and the remaining Rs. 2,00,000/- is to be paid at the time of execution and registration of the sale deed before the Sub- Registrar, Ambikapur, subject to grant of requisite permission by the competent authority. It is further stated that since the land in question is a rehabilitation lease land, prior permission for its transfer is required under Section 165(7-B) of the Chhattisgarh Land Revenue Code. Accordingly, the petitioner submitted an application dated 28.02.2023 before the Collector, Surguja seeking permission to sell the land. The said application was registered as Revenue Proceeding No. 202305021700067 for the year 2022-23 (Class A-21) and was forwarded to the Tehsildar, Ambikapur for necessary inquiry and report. The petitioner further submits that in the course of the proceedings, the Tehsildar caused publication of a public notice in a daily newspaper inviting objections, and thereafter, the concerned authorities including Respondent Nos. 4 and 5 as well as the Deputy Registrar, Ambikapur (Respondent No. 6), submitted their reports during the years 2023–2024 recommending grant of permission for sale of the land. Despite completion of all procedural formalities and submission of favorable reports, the grievance of the petitioner is that the application for grant of permission is still pending before the Collector, Surguja since the year 2022–23 and has not been decided till date. It is contended that such inaction on the part of the respondent authority is causing serious prejudice and financial hardship to the petitioner and his family, especially in light