HUKMA RAM Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner, said to be a resident of village Dhigaria, Tehsil Deedwana, District Nagaur, has filed this petition as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) essentially stating the cause that some part of the land of his village, falling in a catchment area, has been encroached upon. The petitioner has averred that the land of Khasra No. 55 admeasuring 92 bighas 10 biswas, Khasra No. 59 admeasuring 1 bigha 5 biswas, Khasra No. 64 admeasuring 1 bigha 11 biswas and Khasra No. 80 admeasuring 21 bighas and 5 biswas at village Dhigaria is Gair Mumkin Agore land; and has alleged that out of the above -mentioned land, a part of the land, admeasuring 7 bighas 10 biswas as comprised in Khasra No. 55 has been "wrongly and illegally recorded in the Khatedari of Bheru Bhat". According to the petitioner, the land is a catchment area wherein no khatedari rights could have been conferred on anyone. The petitioner has further averred that besides the above, "some persons have illegally made encroachment on the part of the above land, which all encroachments have not been removed by the authorities of the respondents despite several representations." In the body of the petition, the names of the persons who have allegedly made the encroachment have been stated as Nanu Ram S/o Jaisa Ram Khati, Jeghmal S/o Shanker Lal Brahman, Kailash Chand S/o Ram Lal Brahman, Mangi Lal S/o Modu Ram Nai, Madana Ram S/o Bhera Ram Bhat. The petitioner has prayed for the following relief in the writ petition:

(2.) IN this petition, filed on 06.09.2011, show cause notices were ordered to be issued on 19.09.2011. The matter, thereafter, remained pending for quite some time for filing of the reply. The respondents, ultimately filed the reply on 07.01.2013. As regards paragraph 4(b) of the writ petition, the substance whereof has been narrated hereinabove, the respondents have not disputed the averments to the extent they are in conformity with the revenue record. As regards the other averments about non -removal of encroachments, the respondents have stated that as per the report of the Patwari concerned, encroachment made by various persons on the land of Khasra No. 55 have been removed in the presence of Sarpanch of Gram Panchayat, Khojas and the police force. It has also been pointed out that as per the report of the Patwari concerned, in some of the cases, reference proceedings were said to be pending consideration before the Board of Revenue. It has also specifically been maintained that there is no encroachment on the land comprised in Khasra Nos. 59, 64 and 80. A copy of the report of Patwari has been annexed alongwith the reply as Annexure -R/1. We have gone through this report and the contents thereof could usefully be reproduced for ready reference as under: -

(3.) THE learned counsel for the respondents, per contra, submits that so far as the present case is concerned, the removable encroachments have already been removed but in relation to the matters where reference proceedings are pending, the respondents could not have attempted to carry out any proceedings so as to over -reach the process of law.