RAM BASI Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) S. U. Khan, J. Heard learned Counsel for the parties.

(2.) SHEO Murat Singh was the original tenure-holder. He was having agricultural land in ten villages including villages Amva Buzurg and Titariya. Proceedings, under U. P. Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1960, were initiated against him. The Prescribed Authority declared certain area of land held by original tenure-holder as surplus. Against the said order, appeal was filed, which was partly allowed by A. D. J. on 7-5-1976. The Appellate Court held that tenure-holder possessed 32. 87 acres of land as surplus in terms of irrigated land. The Appellate Court remanded the matter to the Prescribed Authority for the reason that the original tenure-holder had contended therein that he was entitled to hold 18 acres land, hence his land in villages Amva Buzurg and Titariya, area of which was 18. 04 acres, should be permitted to be retained by him and the declared surplus land shall be taken from his land held by him in other villages. Thereafter the needful was done by the Prescribed Authority through order dated 11-11-1976 in case No. 53. In the said case one Kamla had filed impleadment application, which was rejected and against that rejection order, appeal was also dismissed. However, it appears that earlier Prescribed Authority had directed that the land of original tenure-holder situate in the aforesaid two villages shall be taken as surplus land. Accordingly, a fresh order to correct the error had been passed by Prescribed Authority on 15-3-1978, copy of which is Annexure 1 to the second writ petition. Original tenure-holder had died in 1977 leaving behind no issue. He was survived by his two widows Ram Basi-petitioner No. 1 in both the writ petitions and Ram Rati. These two widows had been substituted before the Prescribed Authority in case No. 63/61, which was decided on 15-3-1978 through Annexure-1 to the second writ petition. The said order was passed by Prescribed Authority/s. D. O. , Padrauna, District Deoria. However, for a very long time, possession of the surplus land could not be taken by the State. It is stated in the order passed subsequently that due to technical reasons, State could not take possession.

(3.) IT appears that thereafter Brij Narain Singh and other contesting respondents of the first writ petition i. e. Banke Behari, Raj Kishore and Krishna Pratap filed applications for change of choice of deceased Shiv Murat Singh and 18 acres of land situate in the village Amawa Buzurg and Tetariya regarding which Shiv Murat Singh had exercised his option of retaining the same was requested to be taken as surplus land. (Meanwhile Consolidation had intervened and the names of the two widows had been mutated over the land of the above two villages which had been retained by Shiv Murat Singh ). Thereafter, it appears that request for change of choice was accepted and the said land was allotted to different persons. For cancellation of said Pattas, the petitioners filed application under Section 27 (4) of the Ceiling Act before Commissioner Gorakhpur which was registered as application No. 42/d of 1990. The main contention was that against order dated 8-1-1988, writ petition was pending (i. e. first writ petition) and Stay was continuing. Commissioner decided the application on 4-6-2003 holding that allotment was valid. However, Commissioner further held that if stay order passed by the High Court in writ petition No. 956 of 1988 was continuing then the same should be given effect to. The said order has been challenged through the second writ petition.