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Original Owner's Inaction Under Urban Ceiling Act Bars Heirs' Relief:
The has ruled that legal heirs of a tenure holder cannot seek restoration of land declared surplus under the , if the original owner failed to challenge the dispossession within a . A Division Bench of Justice Saral Srivastava and Justice Siddharth Nandan dismissed a writ petition filed by the heirs of Jograj, holding that the 22-year delay in approaching the court amounted to of any right to question the proceedings.
The Case Background
The petitioners, legal heirs of Jograj who died in , sought a directing the State to correct revenue entries and record them as over multiple plots in Bareilly district. They claimed that proceedings under were initiated against Jograj without proper notice, and that the land was declared surplus. The petitioners argued they only learned of the surplus declaration when inspecting revenue records in .
The State, however, produced original records showing that notice under Section 10(5) was served on Jograj in , and possession was taken through a (possession memo) executed on , signed by the Tehsildar and independent witnesses. Revenue entries were made in the State's name that same year.
The Legal Question: Can Heirs Challenge Dispossession After 22 Years?
The court framed two key issues: whether a could be issued when the original owner had not challenged the dispossession, and whether the heirs could obtain relief after such a considerable delay.
The petitioners relied on , and government orders dated , and , claiming that since they remained in , the proceedings should abate. They also pointed to irregularities in the , which lacked the signature of the person who handed over possession.
The court, however, found that the original tenure holder had filed objections under Section 8(3) and even moved an application under in , demonstrating clear knowledge of the proceedings. Despite this, no steps were taken to challenge the dispossession or the revenue entries made in .
by Silence
Citing the 's decision in State of Assam v. Bhaskar Jyoti Sarma (2015), the bench observed that any grievance regarding non-compliance with Section 10(5) must be raised within a of dispossession. Failure to do so amounts to . The court noted:
"If the original owner is found to have been dispossessed pursuant to a notice under Section 10(5) or by undertaking the proceedings under , and against such dispossession, if no remedial proceedings have been undertaken by the original tenure holder, no can be issued for correction of the revenue entries or for any consequential benefit."
The court distinguished the petitioners' case from State of U.P. v. Hari Ram (2013) and Dalsukhbhai Bachubhai Satasia v. State of Gujarat (2026), noting that in those cases the landholders were in actual possession when the Repeal Act came into force or had challenged the proceedings promptly. Here, the petitioners offered only a vague explanation for the delay and failed to produce any evidence of possession over the surplus land on —the date the Repeal Act took effect.
Key Observations
The court rejected the argument that mere continuation of the heirs' names in revenue records over a milzumla (left-out) plot proved possession of the surplus land. It emphasized that revenue entries are not proof of title and only raise a of possession.
"Without assailing the dispossession under the Act, 1976, the question of of the petitioners cannot be looked into, in exercise of powers under ."
On the delay, the bench added:
"On account of the un-explained delay, this Court has no reasons, at such a belated stage, to examine the irregularity in the issuance of notice under Section 10(5) or the preparation of the ; and is constrained to hold that the petitioners shall be deemed to have waived their right, on account of not having objected within a ' '."
Final Decision
Dismissing the writ petition, the court relied on a coordinate bench decision in
Kumbh Karan v. State of U.P.
(2026), where relief was declined because the petitioner
"had
(No Pun Intended)."
The court concluded that the petitioners' belated challenge, coming 22 years after possession was taken and 15 years after the Repeal Act, could not be entertained. No order was made as to costs.
The judgment reinforces the principle that delay and inaction can defeat claims to land even under beneficial legislation like the Repeal Act, particularly when the original owner had ample opportunity to contest the proceedings.
