TH SINGH LUMBARDAR Vs. REVENUE MINISTER, J&K

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition has been presented by Thakura Singh who is the lambardar of villages Snail and Ambarana, Tehsil Akhnoor, against the Revenue Minister J & K State, Munshi Ram the second respondent and the Tehsildar Akhnoor.

(2.) THE writ petition states that the petitioner is a Lumbardar. On 3 -1 -1965 the second respondent, the Tehsildar, at Akhnoor, informed the petitioner by a: written notice that the petitioner should not collect the land revenue of the above villages. Collection of land revenue is one of the statutory duties of a Numberdar. On receipt of the notice and after making inquiries, the petitioner came to know that the first respondent, the Revenue Minister, had by order dated 2 -1 -1965 ordered that the petitioner should be stopped from collecting land revenue of the above villages. This order, according to the petitioner, was passed on an application presented by Munshi Ram respondent 2. According to the petitioner this order was passed without any notice to him and without giving him an opportunity of showing cause against the order. This order is malafide and beyond the powers of the Revenue Minister. The petitioner therefore prays for an appropriate writ for quashing this order.

(3.) TWO affidavits were sworn against this writ petition. Dwarka Nath Sharma Wasil Bakinawis of Tehsil Akhnoor stated that there were huge sums of money recovered by the Petitioner as land revenue which he had not deposited in the treasury ; that the land revenue of village Ambaran totalling Rs. 1950.61 had already been collected by Arjun Nath Patwari and only Rs. 327.27 en account of land revenue of village Sanail had to be collected. The other affidavit is by one Shri I.D. Gupta Deputy Secretary to the Government, Revenue Department which admits the petitioner to be the numberdar of the two villages Ambaran and Sanail in Tehsil Akhnoor. As there were complaints of embezzlement of land revenue against this Numberdar, the Revenue Minister passad an order that the land revenue which was to be collected by the petitioner should be got collected by the Patwari. Notice of that order had been given to the petitioner. The Tehsildar of Akhnoor had been ordered to make an inquiry into this allegation.