Allahabad High Court
Satyendra Kumar Gupt And 3 Others vs State Of U.P. And 5 Others on 5 August, 2021
Author: Rohit Ranjan Agarwal
Bench: Rohit Ranjan Agarwal
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD Court No. - 32 Case :- WRIT - C No. - 6025 of 2021 Petitioner :- Satyendra Kumar Gupt And 3 Others Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 5 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Dinesh Kumar Singh Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C. Hon'ble Rohit Ranjan Agarwal,J.
1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and learned Standing Counsel for respondents No.1 to 3.
2. This writ petition has been filed assailing the notice in R.C.Form-20 by respondent No.3 requiring the petitioner to furnish reply.
3. It is contended by learned counsel for the petitioner that before issuing R.C. Form-20, Rule 66 of the U.P. Revenue Code Rules, 2016 (hereinafter referred to as "Rules, 2016") has not been followed by the authority and straight away without initiating any inquiry or any report submitted by Land Management Committee, respondent No.3 has issued notice in R.C. Form 20.
4. Having heard learned counsel for the parties and from perusal of record, before adverting to decide the issue in hand, a glance of Rules 66 and 67 of Rules, 2016 is necessary. Rules 66 and 67 of the Rules, 2016 are extracted here as under :
"66. Information to Assistant Collector (Section 67).- The information to Assistant Collector required by section 67(1) shall be submitted by the Chairman or any member or the Secretary of the Land Management Committee, or any officer of the Local Authority concerned in R.C.Form-19.
67. Further inquiry by Assistant Collector(Section 67)-(1) On receipt of the information under Rule 66, or on facts otherwise coming to his knowledge, the Assistant Collector may make such inquiry as he deems proper and may obtain further information regarding the following points:-
(a) full description of damage or misappropriation caused or the wrongful occupation made with details of village, plot number, area, boundary, property damaged or misappropriated and market value thereof;
(b) full address along with parentage of the person responsible for such damage, misappropriation or wrongful occupation;
(c) period of wrongful occupation, damage or misappropriation and class of soil of the plots involved;
(d) value of the property damaged or misappropriated calculated at the circle rate fixed by the Collector and the amount sought to be recovered as damages.
(2) The Assistant Collector shall thereafter proceed to take action under Section 67(2) and for that purpose issue a notice to the person concerned in R.C. Form-20 to show cause as to why compensation for damage, misappropriation or wrongful occupation not exceeding the amount specified in the notice be not recovered from him and why he should not be evicted from such land.
(3) If the notice referred to in Section 67(2) remains uncomplied with or if the cause shown by the person concerned is found to be insufficient, the Assistant Collector may direct by order that-
(a) such person be evicted by using such force as may be necessary; or
(b) the amount of compensation for damage or wrongful occupation ordered by the Assistant Collector, if not paid in specified time, may be recovered as arrears of land revenue, including the amount of expenses referred to in sub-rule (3).
(4) The amount of damages sought to be recovered and the expenses of execution of the order shall be specified in such notice, which shall be determined in the following manner:-
(a) In the case of damage or misappropriation, the amount of damages shall be assessed at the prevailing market rate.
(b) In the case of unauthorized occupation of any land, the amount of damages shall be the amount equal to the five percent of the market value of the land calculated at the circle rate fixed by the Collector for each year of unauthorized occupation.
(c) The expenses of execution of the order shall be assessed on the basis of one day's pay and allowances payable to the staff deputed.
(5) If the person wrongfully occupying the land has done cultivation therein, he may be allowed to retain possession thereof until he has harvested the crops subject to the payment by him of the amount equal to the five percent of the market value of the land calculated as per the circle rate which shall be credited to the Consolidated Gaon Fund or the Fund of the local authority other than the Gram Panchayat as the case may be. If the person concerned does not make the payment of the aforesaid amount within the period specified in the notice in R.C. Form-20, the possession of the land shall be delivered to the Land Management Committee or the local authority, as the case may be, together with the crop:
Provided that where such person again wrongfully occupies the same land or any other land within the jurisdiction of the Gram Panchayat or the local authority as the case may be, he shall be evicted therefrom forthwith and possession of the land vacant or together with the crop thereon shall be delivered to the Land Management Committee or the local authority as the case may be.
(6) The Assistant Collector shall make an endeavour to conclude the proceeding under section 67 of the Code within the period of ninety days from the date of issuance of the show cause notice and if the proceeding is not concluded within such period, the reasons for the same shall be recorded.
(7) Nothing in sub-rule (5) shall debar the Land Management Committee or the local authority as the case may be from prosecuting the person who encroaches upon the same land second time in spite of having been evicted under the Code or the Rules, under Section 447 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
(8) There shall be maintained in the office of each Collector a register in R.C. Form-21 showing details of the amount ordered to be realized on account of damages and compensation awarded in proceedings under Section 67 .
(9) A similar register shall also be maintained by each tahsildar showing realization of damages and compensation awarded in such proceeding. The entries made in the register maintained at tahsil shall be compared with the register maintained by the Collector to ensure accuracy of the entries made therein.
(10) A progress report showing realization of damages and compensation awarded in proceedings under Section 67 shall be sent to Board of Revenue, U.P., Lucknow by the fifteenth day of April and October every year. The Board after consolidating the report so received from the districts shall send it to the Government.
(11) Nothing in Rules 66 and 67 shall debar any person from establishment of his right, title or interest in a court of competent jurisdiction in accordance with the law for the time being in force in respect of any matter for which any order has been made under Section 67 of the Code."
5. From perusal of the same, it transpires that the Assistant Collector either on his own motion or on receipt of information under Rule 66, may make inquiry and proceed to take action under Section 67(2) of the Act. The argument of learned counsel for the petitioner that it is mandatory on the part of the respondent No.3 to first issue notice in R.C.Form-19 and then only the authority can proceed to issue R.C.Form-20 is totally against the procedure laid in Rules 66 and 67 of the Rules, 2016.
6. Rule 66 envisages that where information is sought by the Assistant Collector, the Land Management Committee will submit report in R.C.Form-19. But in the present case it transpires that the Assistant Collector on the material available before him has proceeded to issue notice in R.C. Form 20, which is not against the legislative mandate of Rules 66 and 67 of Rules, 2016.
7. In view of the above no writ petition is maintainable against a show cause notice and the petitioner has a remedy of filing objection and appeared before the Court concerned.
8. Apart from the above, no procedural illegality has been shown.
9. Writ petition is dismissed.
Order Date :- 5.8.2021 Kushal