MAHESHWAR PRASAD Vs. BOARD OF REVENUE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this writ petition, the petitioners have prayed for quashing of the proceeding in Land Ceiling Case No. 234 of 1975-76 of the Court Additional Collector, Motihari, including the draft statement dated 21.12.1982 prepared in pursuance of the order under Section 10(2) of the Bihar Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling Areas & Acquisition of Surplus Land) Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as "the said Act"). A prayer has also been made for setting aside the ex parte order dated 23.2.1983 passed by the Additional Collector (respondent No 3, for preparing a final publication contained in Annexure 4, notification No. 214 dated 19.2.1985, a copy of which has been marked as Annexure 6 to the writ petition.

(2.) Petitioner No. 2 is the wife and petitioners 3 to 6 are sons of petitioners No. 1. According to the petitioners there was a partition in their family in 1955 and two brothers of petitioner No. 1 separated from him and he settled in the district of East Champaran and his joint family acquired land in the said district in which he and his family members have got interest. Petitioners' case was that on 9.9.1970, in the family of petitioner No. 1, there were five units but, by virtue of the amendment in the said Act defining the word 'family' the units were reduced to four only. Petitioner No. 1 filed his return on 5.4.1974 which gave rise to Land Ceiling case No. 234 of 1975-76 in the Court of Additional Collector, East Champaran, Motihari. It was alleged that the return was sent down for verification to the Anchal Adhikari who submitted his report to the effect that there were four adults in the family of petitioner No. 1. The learned Additional Collector, accordingly, by order dated 16.7.1976, dropped the proceeding on the ground that petitioner No. 1 could retain 120 acres of land under Section 5 of the said Act; whereas he was holding only 33.39 acres of Class IV land. A copy of the said order is Annexure-1 to the writ petition.

(3.) Petitioners' further case was that Land Ceiling Case No. 95 of 1975-76 was initiated in the district of Munger against Braj Nandan Prasad, younger brother of petitioner No. 2 Smt. Shobha Rani Devi in which a draft publication was made on 25.2.1977 against the above named Braj Nandan Prasad to which an objection under Section 10(3) of the said Act was filed. One of the objections in that case was that a gift was made to her as well as her three sons Rajeshwar Prasad Sah, Nileshwar Prasad Sah and Ratneshwar Prasad Sah, petitioners 4 to 6. The said objection was disposed of on 22.6.1979 by the Additional Collector (Land Ceiling) Munger, holding that the so-called gift made by the land-holder Braj Nandan Prasad in favour of petitioner No. 2 and her three sons was farzi and the same was annulled. It was further stated that the Land Ceiling Case No. 234 of 1975-76 which was dropped in terms of the order dated 16.7.1976 was again revived by the Additional Collector, East Champaran, Motihari, for deciding as to whether petitioner No. 1 had any concern with the lands lying the district of Munger. Petitioner No. 1 took up a stand that he had no concern with the lands lying in the district of Munger. The Additional Collector set up an enquiry in regard to the lands Munger district and, while the said enquiry was pending, respondent No. 3, the Additional Collector, in terms of the order dated 30.6.82 ordered for preparing a draft statement with regard to 76.80 acres of land which included 50 acres of land of village Dahma of Munger district. In draft statement, 9.56 were shown as Class I; 2.34 acres as Class III; and 64.94 acres as Class IV lands without mentioning the basis of that classification. The said 76.80 acres were converted into Class IV lands and, on that conversion, they were shown as 83.63 acres after allowing on unit to the petitioner.