PREM LATA GUPTA Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner claims to be the lawful owner of a piece of land measuring 3 kathas in area being part of C.S. plot No. 248 of Khata No. 2 situated at Sadikpur Yogi, Bahadurpur within Patrakarnagar police station in the town of Patna (hereinafter referred to as the 'the disputed land'). According to the petitioner, he has constructed a residential building and come shops over the land; one of the shops is given on rent to the Medicana Chemist and Druggist. In this writ petition, the petitioner challenges a notice dated 4.1.1997 (annexure 6) issued by the Circle Officer, Sadar, Patna to his tenant Medicana Chemist and Druggist. In the notice, it is stated that as directed in letter No. 21 R, dated 4.1.1997 issued by the Addl. Collector, Patna the possession of the land of Radha Swami Satsang Samaj was taken over on 4.1.1997. The notice further accused the addressee of having made some unauthorized construction on the land and running a shop there. It finally directed the addressee to vacate the shop premises by 8.1.1997 failing which he would be evicted from the shop 'following a procedure recognised by law.'

(2.) ACCORDING to the petitioner, the action of the Circle Officer in issuing this notice to his tenant was wholly arbitrary and unreasonable; it was further submitted that the respondent authorities intended to evict the petitioner and his tenant from the disputed premises by use of force without instituting any suit or legal proceedings in that regard. The petitioner's apprehension regarding his forcible eviction from the disputed premises is not denied by the respondents in the counter affidavit filed on their behalf.

(3.) THE Bihar State Board of Religious Trust (respondent No. 5) and the officials of the district administration have filed separate counter affidavits. However, the contents of the two counter affidavits are quite similar. According to the respondents, the land of C. 5 Plot No. 248 of Khata No. 2, Tauzi No. 227 was recorded as the Bakasht land of Awdesh Pd. Singh, It is the case of the respondents that Awdesh Pd. Singh on Jeth 25 of the Hindi year, 1340 gifted 21 decimals of C.S. plot No. 248 to 'Brahma Asthan' following which a trust into possession of the land in question. Later, one Rampati Das and Phakkar Das filed rent fixation case No. 108/61 62 in respect of the land of C.S. Plot No. 248 and by an order passed by the S.D.O. in that case the rent of the land was fixed in the name of Phakkar Das. It is further stated in the counter affidavit and Bhagwat Pd. Singh one of the sons of Awdesh Pd. Singh had raised objection to the Fixation of fair rent of C.S. Plot No. 248 in the name of Brahma Asthan through Phakkar Das but there was a compromise between Bhagwat Pd. Singh and Phakkar Das and eventually fair rent was fixed in the name of Brahma Asthan. It if further stated that Brahma Asthan was a pious place where the deity of Brahma Baba was installed and it was a place of worship for all the people of the vicinity and the neighbouring villages. All the people of the neighbouring Mohallas and village and the right to worship on the disputed land and were, in fact, freely worshiping the deity of Brahma Baba established and installed on the disputed land. As regards the sale of the disputed land by the Satsang Sabha to the petitioner, it was stated in the counter affidavit that the sale deed was collusive, fraudulent, illegal and invalid and the petitioner had purchased the land from satsang Sabha when the title of the Sabha itself had not been conclusively determined. In this regard, it was further stated that Radha Swami Satsang Sabha had filed T.S, . No. 5/1986 in the Court of Munsif III, Patna, which was till pending in the Court of the Execution Munsif and the title of the petitioner's vendor the Satsang Sabha) was still under challenge and in dispute. In the counter affidavit, it was also started that T.S. No. 56/1995 was filed in the Court of Munsif III Patna, against the petitioner by some people, namely, Kishori Prasad Singh and other claiming the right of worship over the disputed land. In this suit, the Court by an order, dated 14.9.1995, passed under the provisions of Order XXXIX, Rules 1 and 2.of the Code of Civil Procedure, had confirmed the earlier order to maintain status quo over the land and restrained the petitioner 'from constructing wall or erection any type of construction over the suit land.' In this suit neither the Religious Trust Board nor the State of Bihar was a party. It was stated on behalf of the petitioner that a Misc. appeal had been filed against the order of injunction passed by the trial Court.