SHER SINGH Vs. BOARD OF REVENUE FOR RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY this writ petition under Art. 226 of the Constitution the petitioners have challenged the order passed by the Board of Revenue, Rajasthan dated 31st October, 1961. That order was passed on an appeal filed by Thakur Umed Singh respondent No. 3 under sec. 75 (f) of the Rajasthan Land Revenue Act, 1965 against the order dated 2nd March, 1960 passed by the Sub-divisional Officer-cum-Land Records Officer, Jetaran.

(2.) FOR the proper appreciation of the contentions of the parties, it is necessary to refer to the following facts. Thakur Umed Singh was the jagirdar for Nimbera Kalan. The settlement operations of village Nimbera Kalan were going on in the year 1963. On 12th January, 1953 Thakur Umed Singh filed an application before the Assistant Settlement Officer for making certain corrections in the land records. On 25th September, 1964 the Assistant Settlement Officer passed an order for making the corrections as prayed for by Thakur Umed Singh and he corrected the record accordingly on 30th December, 1954. Against this order the petitioners filed an appeal to the Settlement Officer-cum-Record Officer, Pali on 16th February, 1955. The order of the Assistant Settlement Officer was set aside by the Settlement Officer and the case was remanded for taking fresh proceedings according to law. The matter remained pending and the Settlement operations came to close on 14th August, 1958. Thereupon, the case was transferred under sec. 127 of the Rajasthan Land Revenue Act to the Collector, Pali. The Collector, instead of himself taking up proceedings in the matter, sent the case to the Sub-divisional Officer, Jetaran for taking fresh proceedings in the matter. This case was registered in the court of Sub divisional Officer, Jetaran as case No. 7 of 1959. The respondents filed an application on 22nd January, 1959, before the Sub-divisional Officer praying that the record be corrected as it stood previous to the order of the Assistant Settlement Officer dated 25th September, 1954. Again, an application was filed to the same effect on 24th September, 1959. On this application, on 18th April, 1960, the Sub-divisional Officer directed that the correction of entries be made in respect of what existed prior to the order of the Assistant Settlement Officer dated 25th September, 1954. It is against this order that an appeal was filed to the Board of Revenue which was also functioning as Director of Land Records. The Board of Revenue came to the conclusion that the Sub-divisional Officer had no jurisdiction to decide any point relating to entry as the question relating to correction of entries which arose when the survey and record operations were in progress could be decided by the Collector under sec. 127 of the Rajasthan Land Revenue Act, 1956, after the operations had been closed and the Collector had no jurisdiction to send the case to the Sub-divisional Officer. The Board of Revenue also took the view that the Sub-divisional Officer had wrongly assumed jurisdiction in passing the order dated 18th April, 1960 on an application filed by the respondent on 24th September, 1959 as till then the proceedings, which arose when the settlement operations were in progress, had not been finalised by the competent authority. A point was raised before the Board of Revenue that it was not competent to hear the appeal if it is held that the order by the Sub-divisional Officer could not have been passed under sec 136 of the Rajasthan Land Revenue Act. The Board took the view that as the order was purported to be passed under sec. 136, it was competent to entertain the appeal and decide it.