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W.P.(C) 3167/2007 Date: 28th January, 2010.
OM PRAKASH GUPTA ..... Petitioner
Through Mr. B.K. Sood, Mr. V.P. Rana and Mr. Yogesh Kr. Bhatt, Advocates.
Through Ms. Ruchi Sindhwani, Adv. for GNCTD.
Mr. Sanjay Poddar, Advocate.
Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation) Act, 1948
(hereinafter referred to as the Act).
JUDGMENT
2. On 19th December, 1996 and 5th March, 1997, notification under Section 14 (1) of the Act was issued for consolidation of holdings in village Khera Kalan, Delhi. Scheme for consolidation was finalized under Section 20 of the Act and was published on 18th June,
1999.
3. It is the case of the petitioner that as per the scheme, the 2010:DHC:498 W.P.(C) No.3167/2007 Page 2 petitioner was allotted land measuring 1 bigha out of Khasra No.47/5 Min. by the Consolidation Officer in the general re-partition, which took place between 7th December, 1999 and 10th December, 1999. It is, however, the case of the petitioner that after the said dates, he was allowed to cultivate the land in the said Khasra by the Consolidation Officer/Tehsildar and he was given permission to construct boundary wall vide permission dated 3rd October, 2001 by the Revenue Assistant/SDM, Model Town.
4. Mr. Ram Gopal, the respondent No.2 herein vide sale deed dated 25th July, 1989 had purchased 1 bigha land, which has been allotted to the petitioner in the re-partition proceeding. During the pre-consolidation proceedings, the respondent No.2 was in possession of said land. It is the case of the respondent No.2 that he was never dispossessed and continues to remain in possession.
5. The respondent No.2 filed an application dated 14th June, 2000 before the Consolidation Officer. The said application does not state the provision under which it has been filed, but the prayer made was that the respondent No.2 should be allotted land in Khasra No.47/5, Min instead of Khasra No.64/2, Min. On this application, the Consolidation Officer without issuing notice to any of the parties W.P.(C) No.3167/2007 Page 3 including the petitioner reserved his order on 26th November, 2001 after Patwari had submitted his report. By order dated 26th November, 2001, the application filed by the respondent No.2 was allowed and he was allotted land in Khasra No. 47/5, Min, which was earlier allotted to the petitioner in the re-partition proceedings and the petitioner was directed to be allotted land on the value to be computed.
6. The petitioner herein on 18th February, 2002, filed a revision petition under Section 42 of the Act before the Financial Commissioner. The revision petition was entertained and has been dismissed on merits by the Financial Commissioner. The petitioner herein had raised two main objections before the Financial Commissioner; (i) The application filed by the respondent No.2 for change of allotment under the consolidation scheme was time barred and beyond the period of 15 days stipulated in Section 21(2) of the Act; and (ii) the petitioner was not heard before the impugned order dated 26th November, 2001 was passed by the Consolidation Officer.
7. The learned Financial Commissioner rejected the said submissions, inter alia, recording as under:-
9. Under Section 21(1) of the Act, the Consolidation Officer is to carry out re-partition in accordance with the scheme after the same has been confirmed under Section 20 and the boundary of the holding is demarcated and shown in the sharja, which has to be published in the prescribed manner in the estate or estates concerned. Under subsection (2), any person aggrieved by the re-partition has a right to file written objection within 15 days of the publication before the W.P.(C) No.3167/2007 Page 7 Consolidation Officer. Sub-section (2) does not provide for extension of period of limitation in filing of objections. The Financial Commissioner, therefore, has erred in referring the date 18th June, 2004, the date on which the resolution was passed for handing over the possession to the allottees. The said resolution records that the proceedings under Section 21(2) of the Act had been finalized. This means that the objections, which were filed by the third parties within the period specified under Section 21(2) of the Act, had been examined and dealt with. This does not mean that objections by others, who had not filed objections under Section 21(2) of the Act can be entertained at any time ever after expiry of 15 days from the date of publication of sharja. It is not a case of the respondent No.2 that any application/objection filed under Section 21(2) of the Act had a chain reaction and deprived the said respondent or the petitioner of their respective allotments as per the sharja. If that was the case, the position may have been different. In the present case, the allotment made under the scheme/sharja to the petitioner or the respondent No.2 was not subject matter of the objections filed under Section 21(2) of the Act within 15 days from the date of the publication of sharja. W.P.(C) No.3167/2007 Page 8
10. Counsel for the respondent No.2 during the course of hearing has drawn my attention to the Sections 24 and 42 of the Act. The said Sections read as under:-
W.P.(C) No.3167/2007 Page 9 Provides that [no order, scheme or repartition shall be varied] or reserved without giving the parties interest notice to appear and opportunity to be heard [except in cases where the Chief Commissioner is satisfied that the proceedings have been vitiated by unlawful consideration:]”
11. Section 24 of the Act states that the scheme is deemed to have come into force when persons entitled to possession of holdings under the scheme have entered into possession of their holdings and possession of the allottees affected by the scheme of consolidation by re-partition shall remain undisturbed until a fresh scheme is brought into force or an order is passed under Section 36 or 42 of the Act. It also stipulates that change may be ordered pursuant to sub-section (2) (3) or (4) of Section 21. Section 24(2) of the Act stipulates that a Consolidation Officer is competent to exercise all or any of the power of a Revenue officer under the Delhi land Revenue Act, 1954 or the U.P. Land Revenue Act, 1901 as in force in Union Territory of Delhi for the purpose of compliance to the provisions of the sub-section (1). Under section 42, the Chief Commissioner can exercise revisionary power. The said power is exercised by the Financial Commissioner. Under the said provision, the Financial Commissioner, can at any time, for satisfying himself as to the legality or propriety of re-partition W.P.(C) No.3167/2007 Page 10 made by any officer under this Act, call for and examine the records. It is a contention of the counsel for the respondent No.2 that the said respondent could have/can at any time move before the Financial Commissioner under Section 42 of the Act as the re-partition made by the Consolidation Officer was contrary to the scheme itself and there were other illegalities also. He further submits that the respondent No.2 did not move any application under the said Section as vide order dated 26th November, 2001, the Consolidation Officer had allowed his application. It is accordingly submitted that he was not required to move and file a revision petition under Section 42 of the Act as the grievances of the said respondent were redressed.
12 In view of the aforesaid discussion, I set aside the order passed by the Financial Commissioner dated 3rd April, 2007 and the order dated 26th November, 2001 passed by the Consolidation Officer. Authorities will proceed in accordance with law and the provisions of the Act. It is clarified that the respondent No.2 is at liberty to file a revision petition under Section 42 of the Act or any other appropriate proceedings, if so advised. It is clarified that this Court has not examined whether any such proceedings are maintainable and the claim of the respondent No.2 or the petitioner on merits. If any W.P.(C) No.3167/2007 Page 11 proceedings are initiated by the respondent No.2, the same will be considered without being influenced by the observations made in this order which is solely based on the fact that the respondent No.2 had not filed any objections within a period of 15 days under Section 21(2) of the Act. Only the said finding and effect thereof will be binding on the parties. The writ petition is disposed of. No costs.
SANJIV KHANNA, J. JANUARY 28, 2010 NA