Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
Rabindra Nath Mal vs State Of West Bengal & Ors on 15 December, 2016
Author: Debasish Kar Gupta
Bench: Debasish Kar Gupta
1 4 15.12.16
W.P.L.R.T. 118 of 2016 sn RABINDRA NATH MAL VS.
STATE OF WEST BENGAL & ORS.
Mr. Bhaskar Chandra Manna..ld.Adv.
..for the petitioner Mr. Ansar Mondal ..ld.Adv.
Ms. Srilekha Bhattacharya ..ld.Adv.
..for the State This is an application filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India assailing an order dated April 8, 2016 passed by the West Bengal Land Reforms and Tenancy Tribunal, 2nd Bench, in the matter of Rabindra Nath Mal Vs. State of West Bengal & Ors. (In re: O.A. 3383 of 2015(LRTT).
The subject matter of challenge in the above original application was an order passed by the Block Land & Land Reforms Officer under Section 54 of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955. One of the grounds taken in the above original application for assailing the above order was that the concerned officer did not take into consideration the order dated September 3, 1987 passed in the matter of Bhuban Mohan Maity Vs. The State of West Bengal & Ors. (In re: C.R.38(W) of 1977). By virtue of the impugned order, the learned Tribunal held that no appeal should be preferred against an order passed under Section 54 of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955 bypassing the statutory appellate authority in view of the provisions of sub-section (3) of Section 10 of the West Bengal Land Reforms & Tenancy Tribunal Act, 1997. The above point of law has already been decided by us by an order dated March 11, 2016 in the matter of Sri Bidyapati Pal & Ors. Vs. The State of West Bengal & Ors. (In re:
W.P.L.R.T. 19 of 2016) and the relevant portion of the above decision is quoted below:-
" However, we may restrict our observations 2 only up to the extent that on a harmonious reading of the provisions of the WBLRTT Act, 1997 which has already been taken into consideration by us hereinabove, the learned Tribunal possesses a special status of exercising a discretionary power of High Court sitting in writ jurisdiction under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India as a Court of first instance except exercising such a power of a Division Bench of a High Court sitting in writ jurisdiction for review of an order of the learned Tribunal created in exercise of the power of Article 323A or 323B of the Constitution of India.
It necessary to record the relevant portions of the decision of Shiba Prasad Sahoo (supra) as under:
"22. Therefore, on a proper consideration of the aforesaid clauses, viz. clauses (a) and (b) of sub-section (3) of section 10 of the Tribunal Act, the Tribunal can entertain an application at the instance of an applicant if he/she satisfies the Tribunal that remedial measures under the specified Act are not adequate or causes undue hardship to the applicant."
Therefore the learned Tribunal should not time and again reject an original application by adopting a straight jacket formula to direct a litigant to avail of the remedial measures before approaching the Tribunal."
In view of the above settled propositions of law, the impugned order cannot be sustained in law and the same is quashed and set aside.
The learned Tribunal is directed to dispose of the above original application on its merit expeditiously.
This writ petition is thus disposed of.
There will be, however, no order as to costs.
Urgent Photostat certified copy of this order, if applied for, be given to the parties on priority basis.
(Debasish Kar Gupta,J.) 3 (Md. Mumtaz Khan, J.) 4 5