AMRATLAL BHIKHABHAI PATEL Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The order passed by the Mamlatdar and Agricultural Lands Tribunal at Olpad on 25/11/1981 under Sec. 21 of the Gujarat Agricultural Lands Ceiling Act, 1960 ('the Act' for brief) as affirmed in appeal by the order passed by the Dy. Collector at Olpad on 24/02/1982 and in revision by the Gujarat Revenue Tribunal at Ahmedabad by its decision rendered on 24/01/1983 is under challenge in this petition under Arts. 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India. By the impugned order, the Mamlatdar and Agricultural Lands Tribunal declared in all 10 Acres 3.5 Gunthas of lands of the petitioner to be in excess of the ceiling area prescribed for that area.

(2.) The facts giving rise to this petition are not many and not much in dispute. The petitioner was found to be holding lands in all admeasuring 32 Acres 15 Gunthas in Village Veluk, Taluka Olpad. The necessary proceedings for determining whether or not he was holding lands beyond any ceiling area prescribed for that area was undertaken by the Mamlatdar and Agricultural Lands Tribunal at Olpad under Sec. 20 of the Act. In order to determine the nature of the lands held by the petitioner, the necessary certificate issued by the competent officer in view of Explantion-II to Sec. 2(6) of the Act was called for. The competent officer certified some parcels of land to be perennially irrigated and some parcels of land to be seasonally irrigated. The petitioner's grievance is that the competent officer did not associate the present petitioner with the inquiry conducted for determining whether the lands held by the petitioner were seasonally or perennially irrigated. In the inquiry proceedings before the Mamlatdar and Agricultural Lands Tribunal at Olpad, the petitioner objected to the validity of the certificate issued by the competent officer with respect to the nature of lands held by the petitioner. Thereupon the certificate was referred back to the competent officer for the purpose of deciding the objections raised by and on behalf of the petitioner with respect to its validity. The competent officer wrote back to the Mamlatdar and Agricultural Lands Tribunal at Olpad to the effect that the certificate issued by him with respect to the nature of lands held by the petitioner was quite correct. It is the petitioner's grievance before this Court that at that stage also he was not heard with respect to his objections against the validity of the certificate issued by the competent officer regarding the nature of the lands held by the petitioner. It may also be mentioned that there was no certificate issued by the competent officer with respect to one parcel of land bearing block No. 441 admeasuring 7 Acres 31 Gunthas. The Mamlatdar and Agricultural Lands Tribunal at Olpad, however, considered the nature of that parcel of land to be the same as was certified by the competent officer with respect to the other parcels of land mentioned therein. On that basis the petitioner's holding was found to be to the tune of in all 59 Acres 7.5 Juntas. The petitioner was entitled to hold 39 Acres of land in view of the ceiling area prescribed under the Act. He was thereupon found holding lands admeasuring 20 Acres 7.5 Juntas in excess of the ceiling area. By his order passed on 25/11/1981, the Mamlatdar and Agricultural Lands Tribunal at Olpad declared those lands to be in excess of the ceiling area and carved out some 10 Acres 3.5 Juntas (computable to 20 Acres 7 Juntas) of land to have vested in the State Government. A copy of the said order passed by the Mamlatdar and Agricultural Lands Tribunal at Olpad is at Annexure 'A' to this petition. The aggrieved petitioner unsuccessfully carried the matter in appeal before the Dy. Collector at Olpad. By his order passed on 24/02/1982, the Dy. Collector at Olpad dismissed the petitioner's appeal. Its copy is at Annexure 'B' to this petition. The petitioner thereupon unsuccessfully invoked the revisional jurisdiction of the Gujarat Revenue Tribunal at Ahmedabad. By its decision rendered on 24/01/1983, the Gujarat Revenue Tribunal at Ahmedabad rejected the petitioner's revisional application. Its copy is at Annexure 'C' to this petition. The petitioner has thereupon moved this petition under Arts. 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India for questioning the legality and validity of the impugned order at Annexure 'A' to this petition as affirmed in appeal and in revision by the impugned order at Annexure 'B' to this petition and by the impugned decision at Annexure 'C' to this petition respectively.

(3.) Shri Sanjanwala for the petitioner has urged' that the petitioner ought to have been associated with the inquiry conducted by the competent officer for the purpose of determining the class of land within the meaning of Sec. 2(6) of the Act. In substance, runs the submission of Shri Sanjanwala for the petitioner, the certificate specifying the class of lands held by the petitioner could not have been issued without giving an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner. As against this, Shri Patel for the respondents has urged that the competent officer has to discharge executive functions while deciding the class of lands in the hands of the land-holder and it is not necessary for him to give any opportunity of hearing to the landholder before issuing the certificate regarding the class of lands in question.