ALI AKBAR Vs. STATE OF ASSAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN view of the fact that the issues involved, in these three writ petitions, are inextricably connected with each other and the decision, in any of these writ petitions, would have a bearing on the outcome of the other writ petitions, all these writ petitions, as sought for, and agreed to, by the learned counsel for the parties, have been taken up togther for the purpose of final disposal at the stage of admission. I have accordingly heard the learned counsel for the parties concerned.

(2.) ALL these three writ petitions are in the nature of offshoot of a controversy, which had arisen as a result of operation of two different ferries, one by the Inland Water Transport Department (in short, 'the IWTD') and the other by Mandia Anchalik Panchayat.

(3.) BY order, dated 06. 05. 2008, the Commissioner of Lower Assam Division, Government of Assam, concluded that the said ferry ghat fall within the jurisdiction of Mandia Anchalik Panchayat and it is the said Panchayat, which has the jurisdiction to make settlement of the said ferry ghat. Having concluded thus, the Commissioner further pointed out that the petitioner in WP (C) No. 4400/2007, namely, Md. Safiqul Hoque (i. e. , the petitioner in WP (C) No. 2063/2008), had been settled with the ferry for the year 2007-08 at a value of Rs. 61,751/-, but the petitioner had been deprived of his right to operate the ferry, because of the controversy, which had arisen as a result of operation of another ferry by the IWTD and, hence, the petitioner shall be compensated by granting extension of the settlement, which had been made, in his favour, by the said Panchayat.