DHRUP LAL Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner had filed an earlier petition in the public interest on behalf of the residents of Village Selharapur under Gram Panchayat Rarvadi, Tehsil Barhaj, District Deoria. The case of the petitioner is that the Land Management Committee had resolved in public interest to exchange the existing land earmarked as a cremation ground with some other land. The proposal had been submitted to the Competent Authority for permitting an exchange under Section 161 of the U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950. The Division Bench, while disposing of the earlier petition, directed by a judgement dated 12 March 2013 that the Competent Authority should dispose of the proceedings by taking a decision within a period of two months.

(2.) AFTER the order of the Division Bench, the S.D.M., Barhaj, District Deoria passed an order on 19 August 2013 by which he approved the proposal for exchange of the land. The S.D.M. directed that the land bearing Gata No.291M admeasuring 0.053 hectare should be entered in the name of Smt. Buniya Devi Higher Secondary High School and certain alternate land admeasuring 0.081 hectare from Gata No. 100M measuring 0.524 hectare should be earmarked for the cremation ground by deleting the name of the Secondary School from the revenue records.

(3.) THIS order has now been set aside on 13 February 2014 by the S.D.M. on the ground that the earlier order was passed ex parte and since the land had been reserved for cremation ground it could not be exchanged.