SHANTI DEVI Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition arises from a proceeding under the Public Demands Recovery Act and the single petitioner before this court prays for quashing the proceedings of Certificate Case No. 1/95 - 96 pending before the Subdivisional Officer, Dumka.

(2.) THE aforesaid case was instituted against her for recovery of a sum of Rs. 17,000/ - being the approximate current price of 170 quintals of paddy given to her husband in the year 1982 under a &aposJimmanama&apos.

(3.) IT appears that the criminal prosecution of Jitan Sah ended in failure and the orders of confiscation passed against him were also quashed by this court by order, dated 7.1.1993 passed in Cr.W.J,C.No.71/85. After the quashing of the orders of confiscation it became the liability of the respondent authorities to give back the paddy seized from his house to Jitan Sah or to pay him an equal amount in cash. By that time, however, there was no trace of the paddy and in the meantime the petitioner 'shusband had also died on 24.11.1986. In that situation the respondent authorities wrote to the petitioner asking her to make payment of Rs. 17,000/ -, the approximate price of 170 quintals of paddy assessed in the year 1993. On her failure to make payment, a requisition was made by the Subdivisional Officer and a certificate was obtained on the basis of which the certificate case was instituted against the petitioner.