The court emphasized the need for detailed examination of ownership status and legal remedies under agrarian reforms.

ORDER

28.07.2025

1. Land measuring 18.16 kanals in khasra No. 2240 of village Ghaink, tehsil and district Jammu, in terms of its 1971 khasra girdawari ownership status was that of three brothers, namely, Gandarb Singh, Shanker Singh and Krishan Singh which khasra girdawari in its cultivation column also referred them to be in personal cultivation but by an entry in column No. 8, the reference to the petitioner being in cultivating possession stood referred for the very first time in the sense that no khasra girdawari preceding 1971 reflected or recorded the petitioner to be in cultivating possession of the land in khasra No. 2240 of village Ghaink, tehsil and district Jammu relatable to said three owners.

2. In the month of March, 1990, a mutation No. 1383 under section 4 of the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976 came to be attested followed by mutation No. 1386 dated 23.05.1990 under section 8 of the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976 thereby purportedly constituting the petitioner to be the owner in possession of the land measuring 18.16 kanals in khasra No. 2240 of village Ghaink, tehsil and district Jammu.

3. The aforesaid two mutations came to be challenged by none else than the respondent No. 4-Baldev Singh, the real brother of the petitioner, in an appeal under section 21 of the Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976 before the appellate authority of Commissioner Agrarian Reforms, Jammu i.e., Additional Deputy Commissioner, Jammu who, vide his order dated 11.06.2022, came to set aside the aforesaid two mutations and remanded the matter back to the Tehsildar, Bhalwal to conduct a de novo enquiry in presence of the interested parties strictly in accordance with the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976 .

4. The filing of said appeal by the respondent No. 4 had taken place in the month of December, 2020 by which time the Jammu and Kashmir Re-organization Act, 2019 had come into operation thereby deleting the provision of ‘Revision ’ as provided under section 21(2) of the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976 and, therefore, the petitioner, being constrained with no other legal remedy at his disposal under the statute came forward with the institution of the present writ petition assailing the adjudication of the appellate authority.

5. On behalf of the respondent No. 4 reply/objections have come forward through Advocate Mr. Kunal Singh Chib to the writ petition.

6. From the reading of the impugned order of the appellate authority, it is not forthcoming as to whether the appellate authority had adverted itself to examine the factual aspect in detail as to whether at the time of attestation of the aforesaid two mutations, the originally recorded owners were alive or not and if alive, whether the levy deposited by the petitioner was withdrawn by all or anyone of them.

7. Other side of picture is if recorded owners or some of them were not alive at the time of attestation of the aforesaid two mutations, then whether any mutation of inheritance had come to be attested in favour of the legal heirs of the originally recorded owners thereby recognizing them by their ownership status vis-à-vis the land comprising khasra No. 2240 of village Ghaink tehsil and district Jammu forming subject matter of the mutations till March 1990.

8. In order to have a clear picture of this aspect, this court deems it proper to summon the Patwari concerned.

9. Accordingly, the Patwari of Patwar Halqa Amb, tehsil Bhalwal district Jammu to remain present in this Court on the next date of hearing along with the entire revenue record whatsoever relatable to khasra No. 2240 of village Gh