BHAGWANJI BAWANJI PATEL Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Letters Patent Appeal is directed against an order passed on 4-9-68 in Special Civil Application No. 578 of 1967 whereby it came to be dismissed with costs. The facts leading to that application may be broadly stated.

(2.) A plot of land bearing No. 178 which consists of plots bearing S. Nos. 14/5 15 16 16 16 and 19/1 is situated near Raj-chowk in the town of Upleta in the District of Rajkot. The entire land admeasures about 17 bighas 3 gunthas which is equivalent to about 38 800 square yards. This land along with land No. 169 were reserved by the then State of Gondal for being included in the town planning scheme for Upleta. Since that did not materialise the State of Gondal allotted the plot of land No. 178 for the purpose of cultivation to one Bawanji Bada the father of the petitioner appellant along with two others Bhana Duda and Savji Duda on payment of revenue assessment under a document of grant dated 26th July 1939. As the case of the petitioner went Bhana Duda and Savji Duda had relinquished their right in the said land and the petitioner claims the entire land himself. He had however joined them as respondents Nos. 3 and 4 in the case. With the merger of the State of Gondal in 1948 the State of Saurashtra came into being and by a resolution dated 1 March 1950 it granted occupancy rights to various holders of land including reserved or Khalsa land and that way the petitioner claimed to have become the occupant of the land in question. In 1956the Saurashtra State merged with the then State of Bombay. On 30th July 1959 on a report received from the Mamlatdar Upleta the Collector of the District Rajkot passed an order directing the petitioner-appellant to hand over possession of the land by holding that he had no occupancy right in the land. Feeling dissatisfied with that order No. LND-2-2578 dated 30th July 1959 the petitioner-appellant preferred an appeal to the Commissioner of Rajkot Division at Rajkot. By an order dated 10th October 1959 passed in LND. Appeal 4 of 1959-60 by the Commissioner the order of the Collector came to be set aside The Commissioner held that the petitioner appellant had acquired the occupancy rights over the said land under the Ex-Saurashtra Govt. Resolution No. RD-II-4(A) (1)/6151 dated 1 March 1950 and that way he was not liable to be evicted from the land.

(3.) Then one Mr. Jayarambhai Anandbhai Patel of the village Lolki submitted an application dated 21st October 1959 to the then Revenue Minister of the State of Bombay staling that the aforesaid order passed by the Commissioner Rajkot Division Rajkot in respect of the said land was not in accordance with law. That application is not on record. However after the State of Gujarat came to be formed with effect from 1-5-60 that matter came down to this State of Gujarat. Mr. Jayarambhai was then informed by the Agriculture & Lands Department of the Govt. of Gujarat under its letter Ex. E No. LMN-5359-3064-G dated 23rd August 1960 that the Government does not see and find any reason to interfere with the order dated 10-10-59 passed in LND/Appeal 4 of 1959-60 by the Commissioner Rajkot Division Rajkot in this connection. It was signed by the Secretary Land & Agricultural Dept. Gujarat Government. This letter according to the petitioner-appellant contains a decision of the Government in exercise of its powers under sec. 211 of the Land Revenue Code and once that is done it cannot be revived by the Government as is sought to be done in this case. Then on 27th August 1965 the Government of Gujarat published a notification under sec. 4 of the I and Acquisition Act whereby out of this plot of land 1334 square yards of land are required for public purpose such as for constructing a Court Building. The Government has thereafter also published notification under sec. 6 of the Act. The Land Acquisition Officer then issued a notice under sec. 9 of the Act to the petitioner-appellant and in pursuance thereof he had submitted his claim of compensation for that land in response thereto on 25th October 1965 Since then the matter has been pending. While that matter was pending the petitioner and respondents Nos. 3 and 4 received a notice Ex. 1 dated 14-4-67 inter alia stating that the orders passed by the Commissioner Rajkot Division Rajkot in LND Appeal 4 of 1959-60 on 10 were not valid and that the letter dated 23-8-60 a copy whereof was given to the petitioner by the Government where by the Commissioners order was confirmed was also not valid. In that notice it is further stated that the Government proposes to exercise its powers vested in it under sec. 211 of the Land Revenue Code for setting aside the order dated 10 as also the letter dated 23-8-60 and that he should therefore appear to show cause why it should not be so done.