HAREKRUSHNA MISRA Vs. ANANTA THAKUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal under Section 13-G (3) of the Orissa Estates Abolition Act (hereinafter to be referred to as the Act ).

(2.) THE facts, in brief, giving rise to this appeal are as follows: a Notification was issued under Section 3 of the Act on 29-4-1963 abolishing the intermediary interest in 14. 80 acres of land in khata No. 1. Part II 448 debottar lakhrai bahal situate in mouza Nuasasan. Kendrapara. The Tribunal constituted under Section 13-C of the Act on receipt of a reference from the Collector under Section 13-D (2) of the act registered the same on 4-10-1967 as suit No. 944-MG Eef. of 1964 between Ananta Thakur represented by trustee Krushna Chandra Das and the Collector and passed an order fixing the case to 28-10-1967 for removal of some defects. As the defects were not removed, on 28-101967, an order was passed dismissing the case for default. On 2-1-1969, a petition was filed by Sri Muralidhar Das as trustee of the deity for restoration of the case which had been dismissed for default. This application was registered as Misc Case No. 14 of 1969 and posted to 91-1969 for hearing on the point of limitation. On 9-1-1969. an order was recorded that the petition was maintainable and the original case was restored to file. It was posted to 16-1-1969 and thereafter to 18-1-1969. On this latter date, the trustee of the deity was examined and an order was passed declaring that the estate in question is a trust estate and as such not liable to vest in Government. The present appeal has been preferred against this order by the appellants who were not parties to the proceeding before the Estates Abolition Tribunal. The appellants allege that they have acquired tenancy rights under a permanent registered patta dated 12-12-1949 from one Hari Charan Das. the mortgagee of the disputed lands from Krushna Chandra Das, the then trustee of the deity, who had obtained title to and possession of the mortgaged properties by purchase in a court sale in execution of a mortgage decree on the basis that the lands were nominal debottar, the deity being a private deity of the mortgagor's family.

(3.) THE appellants have challenged the legality of the impugned order on the following grounds :