SAPON BORAH Vs. STATE OF ASSAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ appeal is directed against the order dated 15-11-2010 and the judgment dated 27-8-2010 passed by the learned Single Judge in Review Petition No. 97 of 2010 and W.P.(C) No. 3810 of 2010 respectively dismissing the review petition and the writ petition filed by the appellant herein.

(2.) The facts giving rise to this appeal as pleaded by the appellant may be noticed at the outset. The Director of Land Records, Assam granted a Certificate of Survey to the appellant under Rule 13 of the Assam Land Records Manual ("Manual" for short) as he had apparently, in the course of extension survey, surveyed independently more than 500 bighas of cultivated lands. The case of the appellant is that after obtaining this Certificate, he became eligible for the post of Mondals under Rule 8(3) of the Manual, which lays down, among others that, the qualification for that post is possession of a Certificate of Assam Survey School or a Certificate granted by the Director of Land Records under Rule 13 of the Manual. Thus, the appellant considered himself to be qualified for the post. In the meantime, the Director of Land Records, Assam issued instructions to the Deputy Commissioners of different Districts to treat a Certificate of Survey issued under Rule 13 of the Manual to be one of the eligibility criteria of a candidate. However, much to the consternation of the appellant, the Joint Secretary to the Government of Assam, Revenue Department by his letter dated 29-8-2009 informed the Director of Land Records that the Government had regretted its inability to approve such proposal to treat a Certificate of Survey as a qualification for the post of Mondal and observed that such proposal was unwarranted. This letter had been purportedly issued in terms of the Government letter dated 2-4-2009. The net effect of the letter dated 29-8-2009 is that the appellant found himself to be disqualified for the post. According to the appellant, numerous posts of Mondals/Recorders are lying vacant in different Districts of Assam, which were being filled up by the respondent authorities by issuing advertisements, but the Deputy Commissioners refused to accept the Certificate Survey issued under Rule 13 as the requisite qualification: this denied him the right to be considered for those posts. Challenging the impugned decision of the respondent authorities, the appellant filed the writ petition. As noticed earlier, the writ petition was dismissed by the learned Single Judge. The review petition filed by him on the ground of discovery of new evidence was also dismissed by the learned Single Judge. Both the orders of dismissal are under challenge in this appeal.

(3.) The case of the State-respondents, as projected in their affidavitin-opposition, is that in the present day context when there are already fullfledged Survey and Settlement Training Institute in the State with a number of trained Recorders, the provision of Rule 13 is no longer suitable: the rule itself states that such Certificates shall be given only in exceptional circumstances and when an adequate explanation for non-attendance at the Survey School is submitted. Besides, the modern methods of Survey Training and instruments as a result of advancement of technology is the demand of the day which a Recorder can gain only through a systematic course imparted in the Institute and not by undertaking survey works of only 500 bighas of cultivated lands. Hence, the Government in the Revenue Department taking into account all these aspects decided to delete Rule 8(3) concerning the said Certificate of Survey granted by the Director of Land Record & Survey and Rule 13 along with some other provisions which have no relevance in the present day from the Manual which came into being in the year 1906-07: the Revenue Department accordingly issued directions to the Director of Land Record and Survey, etc., Assam. These were the principal contentions of the State-respondents. They, therefore, prayed for dismissal of the writ petition, which was devoid of merit.