SB - Hon'ble Shri Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal

1. Since common questions of law and fact are involved in all these writ petitions, therefore, they have been clubbed together, heard together and are being decided by this common order. For the sake of convenience, WPC No. 1287/2015 is treated as the leading case and the documents/annexures referred to herein are taken from the said writ petition.

2. This batch of writ petitions is directed against impugned order dated 20/05/2015 (Annexure P/1) passed by the Board of Revenue, Bilaspur in Revenue Revision Case No. RN/14/R/A-1/14/480/2012 whereby order dated 27/09/2012 (Annexure P/9) passed by the Additional Commissioner, Raipur Division, Raipur was set aside and order dated 30/11/2011 passed by the Upper Collector, while exercising suo moto power of revision and setting aside order dated 30/10/2006 (Annexure P/2) passed by the Sub-Divisional Officer, Raipur, was restored.

3. The aforesaid challenge has been made on the following factual backdrop :-

(i) The dispute involved herein relates to land bearing Khasra No. 870/2(B-2) area 2,880 sq. ft. located at Village Chirduldih, Ward No. 18, Raipur which was recorded in the name of Dulaurin Bai, Widow of Shobhit Sonkar, as mourushi krishak (occupancy tenant).

(ii) Khelan Sonkar i.e. grandson of Dulaurin Bai, being her only legal heir, inherited the said land and became its registered owner however, the land in question was wrongly recorded as grassland in the Records of Rights.

(iii) Thereafter, Khelan Sonkar filed an application under Section 57(2) of the Chhattisgarh Land Revenue Code, 1959 (hereinafter referred as, “the Land Revenue Code”) before the Sub-Divisional Officer, Raipur on the ground that he is in possession of the said land and his name is recorded as owner in the revenue records, however, a part of the said land has erroneously been recorded as grassland.

(iv) The Sub-Divisional Officer, Raipur, vide order dated 30/10/2006 (Annexure P/2) allowed the application preferred by Khelan Sonkar holding that he is the bhoomiswami of the said land and is in possession of the same and part of the land has been wrongly recorded as grassland, therefore, the concerned Patwari was directed to update the revenue records.

(v) Subsequently, the property in question was sold and transferred by Khelan Sonkar in favour of petitioners herein from 28/11/2006 to 21/12/2010 pursuant to which petitioners became owners of the said land by virtue of registered sale deeds executed in their favour by Khelan Sonkar.

(vi) Thereafter, one Ajay Agrawal (respondent herein), acting as a whistleblower, filed revision application before the Upper Collector, questioning the order dated 30/10/2006 passed by the Sub-Divisional Officer, Raipur without impleading subsequent purchasers as necessary party/non-applicant, however, the Upper Collector, finding that Ajay Agrawal is not interested to further prosecute the revision application, proceeded to exercise its suo moto jurisdiction under Section 50 of the Land Revenue Code and vide order dated 30/11/2011 set aside the order of Sub-Divisional Officer, Raipur and directed that the subject land is a grassland and it shall be vested in the State Government.

(vii) Khelan Sonkar then preferred an appeal before the Additional Commissioner challenging the order of the Upper Collector whereby the Additional Commissioner, vide order dated 27/09/2012 (Annexure P/9) allowed the appeal and set aside the order passed by the upper Collector holding that it is contrary to Section 49(3) of the Land Revenue Code and subsequent purchasers ought to have been impleaded as party /non-applicant in the proceedings before the Upper Collector.

(viii) Being aggrieved by the order passed by the Additional Commissioner, Ajay Agrawal preferred a revision before the Board of Revenue and on 28/04/2015, application under Order 1 Rule 10 of CPC was filed by one of the petitioners namely Sunil Kumar Agra