KASHINATH TIMA DHAVALIKAR Vs. VILLAGE PANCHAYAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) An interesting question arises in the present petition in respect of jurisdiction of the Court of District Judge at South Goa for entertaining revision application filed by the petitioner under Sec. 201-B of the Goa Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 (Act of 1994, for short). By the impugned judgment and order, the said Court at South Goa has held that it does not have jurisdiction to entertain the revision application and accordingly, the revision application filed by the petitioner has been returned, for filing before the Court of competent jurisdiction. The present petition invokes the concepts of Revenue District and Judicial District, while debating the question of jurisdiction for entertaining revision applications under Sec. 201-B of the aforesaid Act of 1994.

(2.) The petitioner herein received a notice dtd. 01/11/2017 issued by respondent No. 1 Village Panchayat of Queula, Taluka Ponda, under Sec. 66 (4) of the Act of 1994 for demolition of alleged illegal structures put up by the petitioner. Aggrieved by the aforesaid notice, the petitioner filed an appeal before the Director of Panchayats - II under Sec. 66(7) of the Act of 1994, claiming that the notice was unsustainable and it deserved to be quashed. By Order dtd. 04/11/2020, the Additional Director of Panchayats-II (South Goa) dismissed the appeal filed by the petitioner and directed him to demolish the alleged illegal structures identified by respondent no. 1-Village Panchayat within a period of 30 days, failing which the Village Panchayat would initiate action for demolition.

(3.) The petitioner filed Civil Revision Application No. 37 of 2020 before the District and Sessions Court at South Goa to challenge the order passed by the Additional Director. A preliminary objection was raised on behalf of the respondents as regards maintainability of the revision application before the District Court at South Goa, on the ground that in terms of Sec. 201-B of the Act of 1994, since the subject matter of the dispute in the present case was within the jurisdiction of District Court of North Goa, the revision deserved to be dismissed for the want of jurisdiction.