SUKUMAR ADHIKARY Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The dispute centres around a plot of land in dag No. 1382 of mouza Rajarampur within Police Station Sutahata. The respondents Nos.3 and 4 were admittedly big raiyats. They did not retain the disputed lands in the return they submitted before the Estates Acquisition Authorities. One Saday Kumar Mondal purchased the said plot by two different registered kobalas dated 17th April, 1966 believing on the representation of the respondents Nos.3 and 4 that the names of the alleged vendors were shown in the finally published record of rights and they did retain the said lands and were otherwise authorised and competent to effect the sale. Saday Kumar Mondal in his turn paid rent to the State Government which are Annexures A1 and A2 to the writ application. By different kobalas dated 5th May 1968 and 1st June 1968 Saday Kumar Mondal sold the said land to the petitioners for a valuable consideration and since then the petitioners are in continuous possession of the disputed plots by raising crops and paying rents to the State Government up to 1382 B.S. Some of the rent receipts are annexures B1 and B2 to the writ application. The petitioners came to know thereafter that the lands were treated as vested lands and that they would be settled with others. The petitioners on enquiry came to know that on November 17, 1979 pursuant to the order passed in Big Raiyat Case bearing No. 746 of 1969 the disputed plots vested in the State.

(2.) It seems obvious that in so far as the present petitioners are concerned they have been cheated by the respondents vendors. The petitioners contend that they are bona fide purchasers of value without any notice about any defect in title of the respondents Nos. 3 and 4. The petitioners contend that big raiyat proceedings were continued without any due notice to the petitioners or their immediate vendors. Saday Kumar Mondal purchased the lands on 17th April, 1966 and in even on May/June, 1968, Saday Kumar Mondal also sold the lands to the petitioners (sic). On perusal of the big raiyat proceeding in Big Raiyat Case No. 746/1969 I find that the said proceeding was started on 14-8-69 and ended on 26-11-69.

(3.) Mr. Manindra Nath Ghose appearing on behalf of the petitioners submits inter alia that the decisions of this Hon'ble Court reported in (1977) 2 Cal LJ 246, Provash Chandra Mondal v. State of West Bengal and (1980) 2 Cal LJ 1, Pachu Molla v. State of West Bengal and as also in an unreported judgment in C.O. 9788 (W)/1983, Rakhal Chandra Kamila v. J.L.R.O., Chandipur, decided by the Hon'ble Mr. Justice Chandan Kumar Banerjee on 12th March, 1984, it was uniformly held that when the State Government mutated the name of the petitioner as a tenant and accepted rents from him as such tenant, the State Government could not treat the said lands as vested and settle the said lands to others. Even if the right of vendor of the petitioner had vested in the State, still the subsequent purchaser i.e. the petitioner could not be affected by the said order of vesting because of the subsequent acts and conduct of the State Government with respect to the petitioner. The State Government must be held to have recognized the tenancy right of the petitioner in respect of the land in question.