AWADHESH KUMAR SINGH Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Can this Court entertain a writ application and exercise its powers under Arts.226 and 227 of the Constitution after the Bihar Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling Area and Acquisition of Surplus Land) (Amendment) Act, 1987 (Bihar Act 21 of 1987), hereinafter to be referred to as the Act, which has created the Bihar Land Reforms Tribunal and barred the jurisdiction of all courts, except the Supreme Court under Art.32 and under Art.136 of the Constitution is a question which this court must determine before the petitioner's case is considered by it.

(2.) The petitioner has questioned the validity of Ss.53(3), 54, 55 and 59 of the Act and has contended that the Tribunal constituted under S.50 of the Act a not a real substitute of the High Court; the State Legislature has gone beyond its competence in saying that every order passed by the Tribunal shall be final and shall not be called in question in any court including the High Court under Art.226 or 227 of the Constitution and that no writ shall lie in the High Court to set aside or modify any proceeding or order taken or made by any authority, appellate Court, the Board of Revenue and the Tribunal and excluded the jurisdiction of all courts except the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Art.32 and Art.136 of the Constitution.

(3.) The Amendment Act which was published in the Bihar gazette(Extraordinary) No. 185 dt. 20-4-1987 has contemplated in S.48 thereof the Constitution of the Tribunal under Art.323-B of the Constitution for land reforms matters. The said provision states that the authority referred to in Cl.(b) of S.2 of Bihar Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling Area and Acquisition of Surplus Land) Act, 1961, the appellate authority referred to in S.30 thereof and the Board of Revenue referred to in S.32 thereof and the Bihar Land Reforms Tribunal constituted under S.50 of the Amendment Act shall be the hierarchy of Tribunals for the purpose of sub-cl. (a) of Cl.(3) of Art.323-B of the Constitution for adjudication or trial of any disputes or complaints with respect to land reforms matters arising under the Act. It has then defined 'Chairman' to mean 'Chairman of Bihar Land Reforms Tribunal' and 'member' to mean 'member of the Bihar Land Reforms Tribunal' in S.49 and provided for the constitution of the Bihar Land Reforms Tribunal consisting of a Chairman and two other members appointed by the State Government in S.50 thereof. S.50 states :-