BHAWANI PRADHAN Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a second appeal against the order of the Commissioner Raipur Division dated 29-3-1962 in Appeal No. 212-A/71 of 1961-62 under which he had only partly allowed the appellant's first appeal against the order of the Additional Collector Raipur dated 15-11-1961 under section 251 (1) of the Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code, 1959 vesting certain tanks held by the appellant, an ex-proprietor, in the State. The Additional Collector had ordered the vesting of five tanks, but the Commissioner found that four of these tanks were not burdened with any rights of the villagers for irrigation or Nistar and therefore in respect of these four tanks the Commissioner set aside the order of the Additional Collector. About the fifth tank (Khasra No. 303 area 3.79 acres) the Commissioner found that the right of the people to take drinking water from this tank was recorded, and therefore he ordered that this tank shall vest in the State.

(2.) THE main contention of the appellant is that this tank had already vested in the State under section 4 of the Madhya Pradesh Abolition of Proprietary Rights Act and therefore it could not vest in the State under section 251 (1) of the Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code, 1959. THE learned counsel argued that after the tank had vested in the State under section 4 of the Abolition Act it had been settled with the appellant under clause (f) of section 5 and a rent also had been assessed on it, and therefore this tank must be held to lie outside the purview of section 251 of the Code. THE learned counsel cited the decision of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Thakur Ram Ranjansing v. THE State(MPLJ 1961 Note No. 110 at page 40), in support of his contention, and also some observation contained in the decision of the Supreme Court in State of Madhya Pradesh and others v. Balkshan Nathani and others(1963 MPLJ 641), which according to the learned counsel lent further support to his contention.