LILADHAR Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE are two writ petitions giving rise to a common question of law ; therefore, we propose to dispose them of by one judgment.

(2.) WRIT petition No. 197 of 1962 is filed by Messrs Brick Manufacturing Co. , Bhadra a partnership firm. The facts of this case are that the petitioner firm purchased a piece of agricultural land comprising of Khasra No. 330 measuring 5 bighas and 3-1/2 biswas in village Bhadra, and after obtaining permission, and entering into an agreement with the State of Rajasthan under the Rajasthan Minor Mineral Concession Rules, it started manufacturing bricks by constructing a brick-kiln on the said land. The lease granted by the Mining Engineer to the petitioner firm was renewed every year and the petitioner's contention is that it is holding a lease which is valid up to 31st of March, 1963. The petitioner wanted to extend its kiln and, therefore, an application was made by the petitioner firm to the Deputy Commissioner Colonisation, Hanumangarh, for further allotment of land measuring 9 bighas 1 biswa. This application of the petitioner was published by the Tehsildar Colonisation for inviting objections, but instead of granting land to the petitioner, Naib-Tehsildar Colonisa-tion, Nohar, intimated the petitioner firm about the order of the Deputy Commissioner Colonisation requiring the petitioner to stop the manufacturing of bricks in Khasra No. 330 forthwith, and if the petitioner failed to obey his order then under Secs. 22 and 24 of the Rajasthan Colonisation Act, 1954 (hereinafter referred to for the sake of brevity as the Colonisation Act) possession of the land in dispute would be taken over by the Government. The letter of the Naib Tehsildar dated 2nd April, 1962 has been placed on record by the petitioner and is marked as Ex. 5. It was against this order of the Naib-Tehsildar that the petitioner has filed this writ petition challenging the validity of the impugned order on the ground that the Naib Tehsildar or any other officer of the Colonisation Department had no jurisdiction to pass such order. The petitioner further averred that it was carrying on its business under a valid lease granted to it by the Mines and Geological Department of the Government of Rajasthan under Rajasthan Minor Mineral Concession Rules and, therefore, authorities of the Colonisation Department had no jurisdiction to interfere and pass the impugned order to restrain the petitioner from manufacturing bricks on the land owned by the firm.

(3.) IN view of the above observations, we allow the writ petitions and direct that the opposite parties be restrained from interfering with the rights of the petitioners which they are enjoying under valid leases granted in their favour by a competent authority under the Rajasthan Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1959. The opposite parties are further restrained from realising from petitioner Lila Dhar in petition No. 184 of 1962 the rent of the disputed land at the rate of Rs. 40/- per bigha from 1959 to 31st of March, 1962. Each petitioner shall get one set of costs from the respondents.