GULAB CHAND Vs. D.D.C

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition arises from objections under Section 20 of the U.P. Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1953, and hereinafter referred to as the ''Act', in relation to the allotment of plot no.55 of Village Teklampur Jagannath Sarai, Pargana Nizamabad, District Azamgarh. The dispute is between petitioners nos.1 and 2, who are chak holders no.98, claiming in the same right through their father and petitioner no.3, chak holder no.128, on one hand, and respondents nos.2, 3 and 4, chak holders nos.126, 122 and 123 respectively, on the other. There are other private respondents also who have, at one stage or the other of these chak allotment proceedings, been affected and are impleaded here as respondents nos.5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12, but it appears that they have not contested proceedings, at least before this Court. All the writ petitioners are now dead, and are represented by their heirs and legal representatives, and so are respondents nos.2, 3 and 4. They are also represented by their respective heirs and legal representatives.

(2.) This petition is directed against a judgment and order dated 25.08.1988 passed by the Deputy Director of Consolidation deciding five revisions under Section 48 of the Act by a common judgment, to wit, Revision no.1301, Ramker vs. Vibhuti and others; Revision no.1296, Ram Badan vs. Ramdhari and others; Revision no.1278, Ramsurat vs. Dashrath and others; Revision no.1295, Sripati vs. Ramashraya and others; and, Revision no.1362, Bechan vs. Lautu and others. The petitioners have challenged the order dated 25.08.1988, relative to each of the Revisions disposed of thereby, but limited to the extent that it has removed from the petitioners' respective chaks, plot no.55 or some sub-division of it, as mentioned in the adjustment chart, that is part of the revisional order dated 25.08.1988, and hereinafter referred to as the ''impugned order'.

(3.) The petitioners have come up seeking restoration to their respective chaks, allotment of land comprising plot no.55 aforesaid, made by the Assistant Settlement Officer of Consolidation vide his order dated 05.01.1987. The case of the petitioners, and to this extent common ground between parties is that plot no.55 of Village Teklampur Jagannath Sarai, Pargana Nizamabad, District Azamgarh was recorded in the name of the Gaon Sabha in the Basic Year. It is the petitioners' case that there is a title dispute between the late Bechan, the father of petitioners nos.1 and 2, and the late Lautu, the third petitioner's father on one hand, and Gaon Sabha Teklampur about plot no.55, on the other. It is the petitioners' case that their fathers during their lifetime had erected a boundary-wall surrounding plot no.55 and carried on agricultural operations there. The petitioners inherited the rights of the late Bechan and the late Lautu aforesaid. In course of time, apart from the boundary-wall erected by the petitioners' father, further improvements were made over plot no.55 by the petitioners, who sunk a tubewell there, establishing their private source of irrigation. Plot no.55 on the commencement of consolidation operation was valued, and the Assistant Consolidation Officer, proposed a chak for the petitioners over the said plot. It has been pleaded in paragraph 4 of the Writ Petition that no objection was filed to the ACO's proposal, and, therefore, the proposal in favour of the petitioners became final. It is pointed out in paragraph 5 of the Writ Petition that one Shubh Karan, respondent no.5 here, filed an objection against other tenure holders, claiming rights to allotment over plots nos.52 and 134. To this objection, petitioner no.3 is claimed to have been made a party. The said objections under Section 20 of the Act were filed on 31.05.1983, and registered before the Court of the Chakbandi Officer-III, Palhani, Azamgarh as Case no.1040. Here, it has been submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioners that another set of objections were filed by respondent no.2 to the ACO's proposal, also dated 31.05.1983, annexed as Annexure CA-1 to the counter affidavit filed on behalf of respondent no.2. These objections were filed against respondent no.4, Ramker son of Kishore and one Pherai son of Samman, and another Komal son of Jagdev, non-parties here. These objections were registered as Case no.1027 on the file of the Chakbandi Officer. In these objections, a specific grievance was raised with regard to plot no.55 with a case that respondent no.2 be allotted a chak on his original holding comprising plots nos.78 and 83, and in case out of the part of the aforesaid plots the chak carved out is short in area, the deficiency be made good from plot no.55.