ISHWAR YADAV Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard learned counsel for the Appellant, State and Respondent Nos. 3 and 4 (hereinafter referred to as the private respondents.

(2.) The present Appeal questions the order dated 31.03.2011 allowing C.W.J.C. No. 5130 of 2004 preferred by the private respondents. It sets aside the order passed by Member Board of Revenue in Revision Case No. 72 of 2003 preferred by the Appellant, affirming the order of the Sub-Divisional Authority in Land Ceiling 16 (3) Case No. 01 of 2002 and the appellate order dated 14.02.2003 passed by the Collector. Consequently, the claim of the Appellant for preemption has been rejected. The crux of the finding and the core issue involved is the nature of the land, whether it was agricultural or had changed its character to homestead by passage of time making the claim of preemption under Section 16(3) of the Lands Ceiling Act inapplicable.

(3.) Learned counsel for the Appellant submitted that the lands were agricultural in nature. The private respondent no.4 was not a landless persons as he exchanged lands with private respondent no.3 inter se by two different sale deeds. The recitals in the sale deeds were themselves evidence for the agricultural nature of the lands when it was described as "Kaste Kaimi" and the vendee was given the right inter alia to "produce of the land". These two recitals taken together were sufficient to identify the nature of the land as agricultural land. The Sub-Divisional Officer and the Collector arrived at a perverse finding without any materials that the nature of the land had changed. There was no discussion or analysis of the nature of evidence or facts available to arrive at this conclusion.