CHO CHO SHAZIA Vs. UT OF LADAKH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner No.1 (minor) is daughter and petitioner No.2 is wife of late Kacho Gazanfer Ali. Respondents No.10 to 15 are brothers and sisters of late Kacho Gazanfer Ali. The father of petitioner No.1 and husband of petitioner No.2 late Kacho Gazanfer Ali and respondents No.10 to 15 are sons and daughters of late Kacho Akber Ali Khan, the estate holder. The estate holder late Kacho Akber Ali Khan had proprietary land and residential building at Zamystang. With the complaint that the brothers were selling out the property left behind by the estate holder late Kacho Akber Ali Khan, respondent No.10 filed an application before the Deputy Commissioner (Collector), Kargil for demarcation, partition and possession of the landed property left behind by the estate holder and held by all his brothers and sisters jointly. The said application was filed before the Deputy Commissioner, Kargil on 1/6/2022. The Deputy Commissioner, Kargil assigned the application to the Assistant Commissioner Revenue (Assistant Collector 1st Class), Kargil.

(2.) The Assistant Commissioner Revenue, Kargil treated the application filed by respondent No.10 as an application under Sec. 105 of the Jammu and Kashmir Land Revenue Act, 1996 ["the Act"] and issued notice to the petitioners herein. Further proceedings in the application were conducted on 6/6/2022, 9/6/2022, 15/6/2022 and 27/6/2022 in presence of the parties. On 12/8/2022 and 15/9/2022, when the partition application was taken up by the Assistant Commissioner, Revenue, the non-applicants therein/petitioners absented. The Assistant Commissioner, Kargil proceeded to consider the matter on the basis of material available before him and passed an ex parte order on 7/10/2022 and directed Tehsildar, Kargil to demarcate the land, make partition and put the applicant (respondent No.10 herein) into possession of his share.

(3.) Feeling aggrieved, the petitioners herein filed WP(C) No. 2817/2022 which was disposed of by a Bench of this Court vide order dtd. 13/2/23 by passing a consent order. The order impugned in the said writ petition, passed by the Assistant Commissioner Revenue, Kargil was set aside and the matter was remanded to the Deputy Commissioner (Collector), Kargil with a direction to reconsider the matter himself and pass an appropriate order after providing an opportunity of hearing to both the parties within a period of four weeks, strictly in accordance with the rules occupying the field. This is how the matter came up for consideration before the Deputy Commissioner (Collector), Kargil on remand. The petitioners herein filed their objections before the Deputy Commissioner (Collector), Kargil, opposing the application of respondent No.10 for demarcation, partition and possession of the subject property taking, inter alia, the following objections to the maintainability of the application: