THIKANA RAJA SAHIB KUCHAMAN Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a reference from the Settlement Commissioner dated 12. 2. 1962 u/s. 82 of the Rajasthan Land Revenue Act, 1956 recommending that the judgment given by the Asstt. Settlement Officer dated 14. 12. 56 should be cancelled. The Settlement Commissioner has stated that by the above order the Settlement Officer wrongly directed that Khasra No. 12 in village Panwadi, Tehsil Nawan, consisting of 293 bighas and 9 biswas of gair-mumkin Pahad should be entered in the Khudkasht of the Raja of Kuchaman. He is of the opinion that such a big chuck of land which is not assessed to any rent cannot be allowed in the Khudkasht of the Jagir-dar. When this case came up for hearing earlier an objection was raised that the Settlement Commissioner who had made the reference had no jurisdiction to do so because the settlement operations had terminated long before the order of reference was made. Accordingly, therefore, further information was required to be collected, with regard to the actual date of the closure of the settlement operations.

(2.) WE are now told that the settlement operations closed on 20. 2. 1958 as shown on page 1071 of the Rajasthan Gazette and this reference was made by the Settlement Commissioner in 1962. The contention of the counsel on behalf of the respondent the Raja of Kuchaman is that the correction sought by the Settlement Commissioner pertains to a matter of record of rights and is not connected with the assessment of rent or other settlement matter. That being so the reference is incompetent as the Settlement Commissioner was not working as an appellate Records Officer, when he made the reference, nor was the Asstt. Settlement Officer working as a Records Officer, subordinate to the Settlement Commissioner. U/s. 82 the Settlement Commissioner can make a reference only with regard to the orders passed by his subordinate Officers.