SURAJ BHAN Vs. FINANCIAL COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) The present appeal arises out of judgment and order passed by the High Court of Delhi on April 25, 2003 in Civil Writ No. 4560 of 1998. By the said order, the High Court confirmed the order passed by Revenue Authorities by which the name of respondent No. 5 was mutated in the Revenue Records.

(3.) Shortly stated the facts are that one Data Ram was the common ancestor of the appellants as also respondent No. 5. He was the owner of agricultural land admeasuring 216 Bighas and 19 Biswas comprised of several Khasra numbers, situated in the Revenue Estate of village Bawana, Delhi. Data Ram died in the year 1948. He was survived by six sons and two daughters; three sons and one daughter from the first wife and three sons and one daughter from the second wife. Ratni Devi was a daughter from the second wife. After the death of Data Ram, the land was mutated in the names of his eight children and each of them was given 1/8th share. In 1987, two sons of Data Ram, namely, (i) Bhagwana, and (ii) Hari Singh instituted a Suit No. 81/87 for declaration and permanent injunction averring therein that two daughters of deceased-Data Ram, namely, (i) Smt. Jee Kaur, and (ii) Smt. Ratni Devi had no right in the land and they could not have inherited any share in the land since they were already married. The suit was ultimately compromised. Names of the appellants were added as legal heirs of Ratni Devi who died on June 14, 1989. It is alleged by the appellants that respondent No. 5 forged a Will purported to have been executed by Ratni Devi on April 14, 1989 stating therein that she was the full and absolute owner of 1/8th share which she inherited from her father Data Ram and that she had given the said share to respondent No. 5 who was her step-brothers son. On the basis of the above Will, respondent No. 5 applied to Tehsildar, Narela, Delhi under the Delhi Land Revenue Act, 1954 to mutate the land said to have been owned by deceased-Ratni Devi in the name of respondent No. 5 and to enter his name in the Revenue Records. No notice was given to the appellants, no opportunity of hearing was afforded, nor principles of natural justice were complied with and Tehsildar entered the name of respondent No. 5 in Revenue Records by effecting mutation in the name of respondent No. 5 in khatauni on March 19, 1997. As soon as the appellants came to know about the fact of mutation entry in Revenue Records in favour of respondent No. 5, they preferred an appeal to Collector, North District, Kanjhawala, Delhi. The appeal, however, was dismissed. A further appeal before the Financial Commissioner, Delhi also met with the same fate. A Writ Petition to the High Court of Delhi being C.W.P. No. 4560 of 1998 was, therefore, filed by the appellants. It was also dismissed as observed earlier, against which the appellants have approached this Court.