AMAR NATH Vs. STATE OF H.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS petition can be disposed of on a very short question. The facts may be stated in brief.

(2.) AN appeal under Section 30(4) of the Himachal Pradesh Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation) Act, 1971 (hereinafter 1971 Act for short) was filed by respondent No. 2 Jagdish Chand against the petitioner Amar Nath as well as proforma respondent No. 3 Udho Ram before Shri V.C. Katoch (HAS), Additional Director, Consolidation Department, Himachal Pradesh against the order dated 27th August, 1984 passed by the Settlement Officer, Consolidation of Holdings, Hamirpur in case No. 166/81. The Settlement Officer; Consolidation of Holdings, Hamirpur had passed the aforesaid impugned order dated 27th August, 1984, himself exercising the appellate jurisdiction under Section 30(3) of 1971 Act against the order passed by the Consolidation Officer on 24th May, 1981. The aforesaid appeal before the Additional Director against the aforesaid order dated 27th August, 1984 passed by the Settlement Officer was instituted on 30th May, 1985, i.e. nine months after the passing of the aforesaid order by the Settlement Officer. The said appeal filed by respondent No. 2 Jagdish Chand was allowed by the Additional Director. Aggrieved, the petitioner herein Amar Nath filed a revision petition in terms of Section 54 of 1971 Act which was dismissed by Shri Sanjay Gupta, IAS, Director, Consolidation of Holdings, Himachal Pradesh vide his judgment dated 17th December, 2002 which is impugned in this petition.

(3.) AFTER noticing the aforesaid ground of revision concerning the limitation aspect with respect to the filing of the appeal before the Additional Director under Section 30(4) of 1971 Act, the Director in the course of the impugned order dated 17th December, 2002 dealt with this question in the following manner: