RAKHAL CHANDRA PANDIT Vs. PULIN BEHARI MANDAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Civil Revision case No. 130 of 1977 and Civil Revision case No. 1433 of 1977 were heard together. The Rule in C.R. 130 of 1977 was obtained by the Petitioner Rakhal Chandra Pandit on his petition under Article 227 of the Constitution challenging the order of the executing authority under the West Bengal Land Reforms Act purported to have been made under Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure on November 2, 1976, setting aside an earlier order dated May 15, 1975 and directing that the execution proceeding shall proceed. The other Rule, namely, C.R. 1433 of 1977 was issued suo motu and was directed against the order dated March 15, 1975, of the same authority.

(2.) The Rules were issued under the following circumstances and the relevant facts for the purpose of appreciating the matter are set forth. The Petitioner in C.R. 130 of 1977, namely, Rakhal Chandra Pandit, was a bargadar in respect of R.S. plot No. 77 of mouza Maheshpur originally under one Gajendra Nath Pandit. The said Gajendra Nath Pandit made an application to the Bhagchas Officer, Basanti, under Section 18 of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act praying for an award terminating cultivation of the Petitioner The award was made terminating the cultivation as applied for, by the Bhagchas Officer on December 23, 1967. Thereafter, the Petitioner preferred an appeal which was dismissed by the appellate authority on June 1, 1968. There was long silence thereafter. Then on March 29, 1974, the award was executed by Gajendra Nath Pandit before the executing authority, namely, the Sub-divisional Officer, Alipore. Subsequently the opposite party who purchased the property from Gajendra Pandit got himself substituted in place of Gajendra Nath Pandit and the execution proceeded. On receipt of notice of the same the Petitioner appeared before the executing authority and showed cause, pleading that the application was barred by time. The S.D.O., viz., the executing authority held that the application for execution was barred by time and passed orders dismissing the same on May 13, 1975. Thereafter the opposite party filed a petition for review under Order XLVII, Rule 1, Code of Civil Procedure, praying for review of the said order by the executing authority. It is significant to note that the award was stayed and could not be executed in view of Section 21A of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act of 1969 for a period of one year upto August 4, 1970. Be that as it may, the executing authority held that he had no power of review, but he was entitled to set aside the order under Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure and this was done. The order dated May 15, 1975, was set aside and the executing authority held that the execution should proceed according to law. Against this order of the executing authority passed reviewing his earlier order the Rule had been obtained in C.R. 130 of 1977.

(3.) In the other revision case, namely, C.R. 1433 of 1977, a Rule was issued suo motu by this Court and the earlier order dated May 15, 1975, is challenged in that Rule. The opposite party contends that the order dismissing the execution case on finding that it was barred by limitation should be set aside as the Limitation Act has no application to an execution proceeding started under the West Bengal Land Reforms Act. The application was admittedly filed beyond three years of the date of award.