LAWS(PAT)-2007-5-95

VINOD LAL DAS Vs. STATE

Decided On May 03, 2007
Vinod Lal Das Appellant
V/S
STATE Respondents

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and the State.

(2.) A counter affidavit has been filed and with the consent of the parties this application is being disposed of at the stage of admission itself.

(3.) The petitioners state and submit that they are purchasers from erstwhile land holder by registered sale deeds of the years 1962 and 1965, i.e., prior to the cut off date 9.9.1970 but surely after 2.10.1959. When agriculture land ceiling proceedings were initiated after the year 1970 as against the landlord being the vendor of the petitioners, the land holder disclosed that he had bonafidely sold the land, inter alia, to the petitioners as aforesaid. Petitioners were noticed. They appeared and put their stand before the authority and as such the Additional Collector Land Ceiling, Madhubani concluded the proceedings by his final order in Ceiling Case No. 6/1973-74, dated 5.8.1995. In the order the Additional Collector has noticed that in village Narar (Jainagar) the land holder claimed exclusion of 111.39 acres of land on the ground that 10 acres, 17 kathas and 4 dhurs land had been surrendered by him in terms of Section 15(a) of the Bihar Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling Area and Acquisition of Surplus Land) Act and rests were bonafidely sold between 22.10.1959 and 8.7.1970. So far as the land allegedly claimed to have been surrendered is concerned, the Additional Collector did not accept the same, as no paper in this regard was available on record and this was accordingly rejected. In no specific term the Additional Collector has held that rest of the lands, as aforesaid, were validly and bonafidely transferred and as such they were required to be deleted from the proceedings being bona fide sale.