ASHOK KUMAR Vs. NARAIN SINGH AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a petition under Art. 226 of the Constitution of India which is directed against orders dated 16-1-1978 and 4-8-1978 passed respectively by respondents Nos. 3 and 4.

(2.) These are the material facts. A residential house described as Kori Quarter No. 59 near Railway Station Road Orai under various orders under challenge was allotted to the petitioner in March 1975. The petitioner entered into possession of the said quarter in pursuance of the said allotment. On 13-7-77, one Shyam Behari Lal made an application for the allotment of the said house alleging that it was vacant. It was stated that the petitioner was not residing in it and had allowed it to be occupied by others. This application was followed by some other Dasrath Singh.

(3.) On 10-8-1977, the petitioner moved an application/objection alleging that be had come to know that some individuals had made applications for allotment of the quarter on the false representation that the quarter had fallen vacant and that some enquiry had been ordered to be made by the Rent Control Inspector with a view to setting the house notified as vacant. The said proceedings were entirely unauthorised and improper inasmuch as the quarter was not vacant at all. It was also asserted in this connection that instead of getting the enquiry conducted by the Rent Control Inspector, it might be carried out by the Naib Tahsildar so that justice might be done. It appears that the District Magistrate was not satisfied with the way the Rent Control Inspector was conducting the enquiry, and, therefore, he asked the District Supply Officer to enquire into the question of vacancy himself. The District Supply Officer then appears to have recorded the statements of a number of witnesses, namely, Satish Kumar, Mahadeo Das, Sant Kumar son of Radhey Shyam. These statements were recorded by the District Supply Officer on 20-9-77. On the basis of these statements, it appears that the vacancy was notified by the District Supply Officer (who was also the Rent Control and Eviction Officer). It might be mentioned that some of the persons examined by the District Supply Officer were themselves applicants for allotment of the quarter.