MANA RAM Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Mana Ram and other 100 persons filed a joint 58 Civil Writ Petition No. 1451/97 before this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India challenging challans dated 13-3-97 (Annexs. 5 to 9) issued by the Tehsildar for the payment of interest at the rate of 18% from the petitioners under Rule 17(8) of the Rajasthan Colonisation (Allotment and Sale of the Government Land in Indira Gandhi Canal Colony Area) Rules, 1975 amended in the year 1992 on the instalment amount, which was earlier stayed by this Court on 9-9-88 in Writ Petition No. 2963/88 (Annex. 3).

(2.) On 23-4-97 my learned brother P. P. Naolekar, J. directed the learned counsel Shri Purohit for the petitioner to pay Court-fee in respect of each petitioner separately (as earlier joint Court-fee was paid for all the petitioners) and the matter was ordered to be listed for admission only after payment of Court-fees for each petitioner. Accordingly, the Court-fee was paid by the learned counsel for each petitioner. Thereafter, on 2-5-94 Naolekar, J. ordered to issue notice to the respondents to show cause as to why the writ petition should not be admitted and disposed of at the admission stage itself. In response to the notice issued by this Court, the respondents filed reply to the petition and raised preliminary objection about the maintainability of the joint writ petition filed by 102 petitioners.

(3.) On stay petition also, notice was ordered to be issued and the petitioners were directed to deposit the amount as ordered in SB Civil Writ Petition No. 1130/89 within a period of two weeks without interest and the respondents were directed to accept that amount. The deposit of the amount was made subject to the result of the main writ petition.