SANTOSH KUMARI JAIN Vs. STATE OF H P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner challenges the settlement operations in Village Tikka Seri Nadaun, District Hamirpur. The grievance of the petitioner was that mutations have been entered into the name of dead persons, sale and purchase made by the petitioner is not being reflected in the revenue record and on a part of the land as detailed in the petition, which was in the ownership of the petitioner, a public path is shown to exist despite his established ownership. Ld. Counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner's grievance that a purported public path has been shown to exist on his land in Khasra No. 146 has not been redressed. On 24.2.2009, this Court ordered:-

(2.) In compliance, the Settlement Officer has placed his report on the record of the case. The petitioner has filed objections to the report. On going through the report, and the submissions made in detail by the parties, I find that the issue regarding the existence or non-existence of the path has not been resolved satisfactorily. This is so because the Settlement Officer records that on behalf of the Notified Area Committee, Nadaun, it has been stated it does not possess this land, yet it has been correctly recorded in its possession as is the practice followed by the Settlement Department. The Settlement Officer also observes that the petitioner is making an allout effort to get the land recorded in her favour and to extinguish the easmentary rights of other persons whose houses the path serves.

(3.) Without entering into the controversy as to whether easementary rights of the parties are affected or not, more so because of the fact that the parties who claim such rights have not been impleaded in this petition, this Writ Petition is disposed of with a direction to the Tehsildar, Nadaun to look into this aspect of the matter i.e. whether a public path exists on the land as asserted by the Settlement authorities or not. For this purpose he shall hear the petitioner and all interested parties and provide them with ample opportunity to place on record any material in support of their respective contentions. The Secretary of the Notified Area Committee shall also be called upon to show as to under what circumstances this land came to be recorded in favour of the Notified Area Committee.