Gujarat High Court
State Of Gujarat vs Heirs Of Deceased Thakarda Jethaji ... on 19 April, 2018
Author: N.V.Anjaria
Bench: N.V.Anjaria
C/SCA/4699/2018 ORDER
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 4699 of 2018
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STATE OF GUJARAT
Versus
HEIRS OF DECEASED THAKARDA JETHAJI ARJAN DHULA
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Appearance:
MR MANAN MEHTA, ASST.GOVERNMENT PLEADER for PETITIONER No.1
for the RESPONDENT(s) No. 1,1.1,1.1.1,1.1.2,1.1.3,1.1.4,1.2,1.3,1.4
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CORAM: HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE N.V.ANJARIA
Date : 19/04/2018
ORAL ORDER
Heard learned Assistant Government Pleader Mr.Manan Mehta for the petitionerState, who assailed the judgment and order dated 16.05.2014 of the Gujarat Revenue Tribunal whereby the appeal/revision No.44 of 2013 of the private respondents herein came to be allowed, in turn, order of the Collector, Banaskantha, dated 30.10.2013 was set aside, resultantly, order dated 11.06.2012 by the Mamlatdar, Danta, passed under Section 37(2) of the Gujarat Land Revenue Code, was maintained.
2. The aspect of delay of four years in challenging the impugned judgment and order of the Revenue Tribunal by the State could not stand as impediment Page 1 of 5 C/SCA/4699/2018 ORDER to consider the petition, once the prima facie merits were seen.
3. It appears that Mutation Entry No.234 dated 13.05.1970 which was in respect of land bearing Survey No.147/4, New Survey No.123 at village Kumbharia, Taluka Danta, Banaskantha, was entered into the revenue records, in view of Section 8 of the Gujarat Devsthan Inams Abolition Act, 1969, brought into force with effect from 15.11.1969. The said land thereby stood vested in the State Government with extinguishment of Inami rights in the land. This Entry No.234 mutated on 13.05.1970, figures on record of the petition. As a necessary consequence, the name of the State Government in respect of the said land shown as Sarkari Padtar continued to appear in the revenue records including Village Form No.7/12. 3.1 After the said entry recorded and certified in the year 1970, in respect of the said land along with other similarly treated parcels of land 38 years later an application dated 29.12.2008 came to be preferred under Section 37(2) of the Gujarat Land Revenue Code wherein the applicants thereof claiming Page 2 of 5 C/SCA/4699/2018 ORDER to be the heirs of Arjanbhai Dhudaji staked their ownership over the land. By order dated 28.04.2009, the land was held to be of the private ownership of Thakarda Arjanbhai Dhudaji and others. 3.2 This order of the Mamlatdar was taken into review and the Collector passed order dated 07.12.2011 quashing the Mamlatdar's order so as to remand the case to the Mamlatdar. The Mamlatdar again passed order dated 11.06.2012 and came to the same conclusion that the land was of private ownership.
4. The said order passed by the Mamlatdar holding in repeat that the private parties were the owners of the land, was taken into suo motu revision by the Collector, who by order dated 30.10.2013 held that the land had vested in the State Government under the Gujarat Devsthan Inams Abolition Act. After setting aside the order of the Mamlatdar dated 11.06.2012, rejected the claim of ownership of the private respondents over the land and declared that the land in question was of the ownership of the State. The said order was upturned by the order of Gujarat Revenue Tribunal which is the impugned one. Page 3 of 5 C/SCA/4699/2018 ORDER
5. There emerged strong prima facie aspects against the order of the Tribunal in allowing the Revision Application. Firstly, the Mamatdar ventured to hold that the private parties were the owners of the land in question which he did after passage of 38 years by entertaining the application and further ignoring Entry No.234 whereunder the land was vested to the State Government. Secondly, the finding of the Tribunal that the disputed land was standing in the name of Thakarda Arjanbhai Dhudabhai since 1957 before the promulgation, was prima facie contrary to the record. Thirdly and more importantly, material was available to prima facie suggest that initially Entry No.230 was recorded on 13.05.1970 to give effect to the Gujarat Devsthan Inams Abolition Act and the land in question was deleted as Devsthan Inami tenure land. Thereafter aforementioned Entry No.234 was mutated under Section 8 of the Act by which the name of the State Government was shown as the land vested in the State. This entry continued for 38 years before the Mamlatdar proceeded to upset it, after almost four decades in the proceedings under Section 37(2) of the Gujarat Land Revenue Code Page 4 of 5 C/SCA/4699/2018 ORDER initiated by the private parties.
5.1 It was also the submission of learned Assistant Government Pleader that the land has been in possession of the State Government and is rich in terms of availability of mineral marble and that the marble has been excavated from the land.
6. In view of the above highlighted facts emerging from record, the challenge in this petition has stronger merits than the aspect of delay in challenge by the State Government. The delay was explained to have occurred for administrative reasons and on procedural counts which to some extent could be said to be inherent when the Governmental machinery undertakes decision making process to challenge the decision in the higher forum or Court.
7. Notice returnable on 20.06.2018. By way of ad interim relief, the order dated 16.05.2014, passed by the Gujarat Revenue Tribunal in Revision Application No.44 of 2013, is hereby stayed.
(N.V.ANJARIA, J.) Gaurav+ Page 5 of 5