SAHAB DEI Vs. CONSOLIDATION OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and learned Standing Counsel appearing for the State-respondent. This petition seeks to challenge two orders passed by the Consolidation Officer, Balrampur, one passed on 20.11.2013 and other passed on 18.08.2015.

(2.) It appears that during consolidation proceedings a dispute relating to title had cropped up between the predecessors in interest of the petitioners and the predecessors in interest of the respondent Nos.2 to 4. The matter ultimately was carried up to this Court and predecessors in interest of the respondents filed Writ Petition No. 1655 of 1972, Swami Dayal etc. Vs. Smt. Sukh Mata etc. The said writ petition was finally decided on 02.03.1979. This court while passing the said judgment and order on 02.03.1979 quashed the orders passed by the Consolidation Officer, the Settlement Officer (Consolidation) and the Deputy Director of Consolidation respectively and remitted the matter back to the Consolidation Officer with the direction that he shall restore the objections preferred by the petitioners therein (predecessors in interest of the respondents) and will proceed to dispose of the same on merits as expeditiously as possible.

(3.) It appears that the said order dated 02.03.1979 was never brought to the notice of the Consolidation Officer either by the predecessors in interest of the respondents or even by the predecessors in interest of the petitioners. It is not in dispute that the predecessors in interest of the petitioners were parties to the afore-noted Writ Petition No. 1655 of 1972 and hence, it was a duty cast equally on the predecessors in interest of the petitioners to have apprised the Consolidation Officer of the order dated 02.03.1979, passed by this Court. In the meantime, the predecessors in interest of the petitioners as well as those of the respondents expired and now respondents have moved the Consolidation Officer informing him of the order dated 02.03.1979, passed by this Court with the prayer to restore the objections and decide the same on merits as was directed by this Court by means of judgment and order dated 02.03.1979.