Gujarat High Court
Yogesh Lakhmanbhai Chovatiya vs Deputy Collector, Veraval on 30 November, 2022
Author: A.Y. Kogje
Bench: A.Y. Kogje
C/SCA/10151/2022 ORDER DATED: 30/11/2022
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 10151 of 2022
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 9637 of 2022
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YOGESH LAKHMANBHAI CHOVATIYA
Versus
DEPUTY COLLECTOR, VERAVAL
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Appearance:
MR RATHIN P RAVAL(5013) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1,2
MR. JAYNEEL PARIKH, AGP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A.Y. KOGJE
Date : 30/11/2022
ORAL ORDER
1. These two petitions are filed with regard to the same subject matter at two different stages and hence both the matters are taken up for hearing and disposal, jointly. The first petition i.e. Special Civil Application No.9637 of 2022 was filed at an interregnum stage and the second petition i.e. Special Civil Application No.10151 of 2022 was filed at the subsequent stage. The subject matter is the same land being Survey Number 94/1 paiki 25 of Village-Ratidhar, Taluka-Talala.
2. As Special Civil Application No.9637 of 2022 is at an interregnum stage, the Court deems it fit to deal with the subsequent petition i.e. Special Civil Application No.10151 of 2022, as it covers the issues pertaining to both the petitions.
3. This petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is filed Page 1 of 5 Downloaded on : Sat Dec 24 00:54:53 IST 2022 C/SCA/10151/2022 ORDER DATED: 30/11/2022 seeking direction to the respondent-revenue authorities to draw a map of boundaries and prepare rojkam through a Commissioner for the aforesaid subject land of Village-Ratidhar.
4. Learned Advocate for the petitioner submitted that by resorting to drawing a proper map and rojkam, there will be a clarity with regard to the subject land, or else, injustice will be meted out to the petitioner, as a result of which the petitioner will have to lose the land, which he has purchased under a registered sale-deed.
5. Learned Advocate for the petitioner submitted that the land in question was originally a 'santhani' land, which was converted to old tenure by the original grantee and thereafter it was sold by a registered sale-deed in the year 2007 to the petitioner. It is further submitted that the Deputy Collector instituted proceedings to inquire into the breach of conditions on the ground that the petitioner had shifted his boundary in such a manner that the petitioner is now encroaching upon a Government land.
6. Learned Advocate for the petitioner submitted that the impugned order dated 13th May 2022 appears to be a backdated as the said order refers to this petition being Special Civil Application No.9637 of 2022 whereas this Court passed an order of issuing notice only on 18-05-2022 and therefore, there could not have been a mention of this petition in the order, which is passed prior to 18-05-2022. Learned Advocate further submitted that this Court made certain relevant observations in its Page 2 of 5 Downloaded on : Sat Dec 24 00:54:53 IST 2022 C/SCA/10151/2022 ORDER DATED: 30/11/2022 orders dated 08-06-2022 as well as 04-07-2022 and therefore also the prayer for the petitioner for carrying out the measurement, may be considered.
7. As against this learned AGP has opposed grant of petition by submitting that petitioner has challenged the order of the Deputy Collector dated 13-5-2022, by which the proceedings for breach of conditions were dropped and further directions were issued to the Mamlatdar to initiate proceedings under Section-61 of the Land Revenue Code. It is submitted that the order passed by the Deputy Collector, can be challenged before a higher forum being the Collector, whereas the petitioner has straightway filed petitions before this Court.
8. Learned AGP has also submitted that the impugned order refers to the exercise carried out by the revenue officers in carrying out the measurement of the land in question and thereafter, has come to the conclusion that there is variation in the location of the land and therefore the land which is presently occupied by the petitioner is a Government land.
9. Having considered the rival submissions of the parties and having perused the documents on record, it appears that it is a case where the office of the Collector, Gir-Somnath received a complaint with an allegation that the petitioner executed a sale-deed in connection with the land bearing Survey Number 94/1 by showing wrong boundaries in the sale-deed, and in connivance with the father of the petitioner, who Page 3 of 5 Downloaded on : Sat Dec 24 00:54:53 IST 2022 C/SCA/10151/2022 ORDER DATED: 30/11/2022 was, at the relevant time, the Sarpanch, has shown such parcel of land on the 'gauchar' land of the village.
10. Therefore, 'sharatbhang' case was registered and report was called for from the Mamlatdar, Talala, which was submitted on 13-10-2010, pursuant to which a show Cause Notice was issued by the Deputy Collector, Veraval on 17-10-2020. From the record, it appears that vide order dated 23-10-1977, the land bearing Survey Number 94/1 came to be allotted to several persons by way of 'santhani' and the predecessor of the petitioner; Samat Devdas was one of the allottees at Sr. No.19 whose land was surrounded by the allottees at Sr. Nos. 16, 17, 18 and
20. When the report was prepared by the Mamlatdar, Talala, it was found that the land claimed by the petitioner was not surrounded by any land given under 'santhani' and therefore the entire location of the land appears to have been changed.
11. The Court finds that the revenue authorities, after undertaking certain procedures, has arrived at a finding of fact regarding the location of the land claimed by the petitioner by way of a sale-deed from the original allottee under the 'santhani' and the same is not found in consonance with the original allotment of the land to the predecessor in title under a 'santhani'. Still, by considering the observations made by this Court in the orders dated 8-6-2022 and 4-7-2022, the Court is of the view that the present matter can be disposed of by issuing directions to the Collector for undertaking the proceedings by preparing a Rojkam and Page 4 of 5 Downloaded on : Sat Dec 24 00:54:53 IST 2022 C/SCA/10151/2022 ORDER DATED: 30/11/2022 carrying out proper measurement with the assistance of his subordinate officers so as to indicate the exact location of the land, which is in occupation of the petitioner, and its boundaries so as to compare the same with the boundaries of the land allotted to the predecessor of the petitioner, namely Samat Devdas and also to ascertain whether the land claimed by the petitioner is actually located on a Government/ gaucher land.
12. The said exercise to be undertaken by the Collector within a period of 3 months from today, and upon such exercise being undertaken, to undertake further proceedings for evicting the petitioner, if found located on Government / gaucher land.
13. With the aforesaid, both the petitions stand disposed of accordingly.
(A.Y. KOGJE, J) PARESH SOMPURA Page 5 of 5 Downloaded on : Sat Dec 24 00:54:53 IST 2022