Sr. No. 01 HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH AT SRINAGAR (Th. virtual mode from Jam mu Wing of High Court Case No.:- WP(C) No. 301/2025 CM No. 696/2025 Reserved on: 17.10.2025 Pronounced on:

11.12.2025 Uploaded on: 11.12.2025 Whether the operative part or full judgment is pronounced Full Vikas Dhar …. Petitioner(s)

Through:- Mr. Hakim Suhail Ishtiaq, Advocate.

Mr. Wahid Lone, Advocate.

V/s Financial Commissioner (Revenue) and ors. ….Respondent(s)

Through:- Mr. R A Jan, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Wahid Ahmad, Advocate.

CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE JAVED IQBAL WANI, JUDGE

JUDGMENT

1. Through the medium of the instant petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, petitioner has thrown challenge to the order dated 28.10.2024 passed by the Financial Commissioner Revenue- respondent 1 herein in a batch of six appeals/revisions filed by respondent 2 herein, wherein several mutations being Mutation No. 620 dated 17.08.1972, Mutation No. 920 dated 05.09.1981 and Mutation No. 921 dated 12.09.1981 and subsequent gift-based Mutations bearing No’s. 1403 dated 15.04.1988 and 1409 dated 26.04.1988 in respect of land measuring 5 Kanals 1 Marla falling under Khasra No. 1100/945/802 in Estate Sonwar, Tehsil Srinagar (South) had been thrown challenge to.

2. Before proceeding to advert to the issues involved in the instant petition, it would be appropriate to give a brief background of the facts, leading to the filing of the instant petition hereunder:-

(i) Mutation No. 620 (supra) came to be attested on 17.08.1972 in respect of the land in question on the basis of an order of the then Tehsildar, Srinagar dated 09.08.1972, reflecting therein the possession of proforma respondent 4 herein since Rabi 1969 and at the time of attestation of the said mutation, land measuring 10 Kanals 08 Marlas was recorded in the possession of one Justice Janki Nath Wazir, (former Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir) and paternal uncle of respondents 2 and 3 herein and the said Justice Wazir had appeared before the Tehsildar and made a statement before him at the time of attestation of said mutation No. 620.

(ii) Pursuant to coming into being of J&K Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976 (hereinafter referred to as, “the Act of 1976”), Mutations Nos. 920 and 921 (supra) were attested under Sections 4 and 8 of the Act of 1976 in respect of the land in question, resulting in conferment of ownership rights upon proforma respondent 4 herein.

(iii) Respondents 2 and 3 herein succeeded to the estate of their father, namely, Sh. B.S. Sawhney, who passed away on 12.05.1980 and in the year 1983, respondent 2 herein applied for attestation of the inheritance mutation of the estate of his father, resulting in attestation of Mutation No. 1074, wherein the respondent 2 herein expressly acknowledged that land measuring 5 Kanals 1 Marla stood mutated under Section 8 of the Act of 1976 in favour of proforma respondent 4 herein and had prayed for devolution of the remaining portion of the land by way of inheritance and in this regard, the respondent 2 herein had also signed the said Mutation No. 1074.

(iv) Prior thereto, in the year 1976, eviction proceedings had been initiated qua the land in question against the proforma respondent 4 at the behest of respondent 3 herein being (brother of respondent 2) under and in terms of the provisions of Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act of 1971”) on the ground that the entire 10 Kanals of land along with a house had been leased to the Defence Authority pursuant to Lease Deed dated 12.11.1960 and the said eviction proceedings got culminated into an order of eviction dated 30.11.1985 passed by the Estates Officer, wherein it had been held that the Mutation Nos. 620, 920, 921 and 1074 are un-reliable orders and not acceptable.

(v) The said order of the Estates Officer dated 30.11.1985 came to be challenged by the proforma respondent 4 herein before the District Judge, Srin