CHANDRABANSHI SINGH Vs. THE STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A counter affidavit is on record. Court had adjourned the matter to enable State to file a better counter affidavit. State has chosen not to do so. Petitioner does not seek to file a rejoinder. Pleadings, being complete, with consent of parties, the case was heard at length for final disposal at this stage itself. Petitioner has filed this writ petition with a prayer for issuance of direction to the respondent-State and the district authorities of Patna, in particular, to issue rent receipts after receiving due rent for the lands which have been settled with the petitioner and which are in petitioner's possession. As usual, State has sought to create controversy when there was none.

(2.) Case of petitioner is that these lands had been settled with the ancestors of petitioner sometime in the year 1926-1927. Petitioner's ancestors were recorded as raiyats pursuant to settlement made at that time by the State. Accordingly, Jamabandi was opened and continued from that day. Till recently, revenue was accepted and rent receipts issued by the State but, for some mischievous reason, suddenly State stopped accepting the revenue or issuing rent receipts. It virtually started denying or challenging the interest of the petitioner in the land itself. That is what forced the petitioner to come to this Court.

(3.) The counter affidavit, that has been filed, clearly shows the stand of the State. Apart from being incorrect, it is rightly termed as mischievous. It is only based upon an opinion obtained from the Government Pleader (GP), Patna. The stand of the State is that the land in question is known as the Digha-Diara khasmahal land and, as such, it is khasmahal land. It was never settled to the ancestors of petitioner or petitioner by the Collector. The Jamabandis were wrongly drawn up. The entries in Register II showing ancestors of petitioner as the settlees were wrongly done.