JHULAN SINGH Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present case is taken up through vide conferencing.

(2.) The present writ petition has been filed for quashing the order dtd. 18/2/2022 (Annexure-6/1 to the writ petition) passed by the Competent Authority, Jharkhand State Housing Board, Ranchi (the respondent no.6) in Eviction Case No. 17 of 2012 whereby the petitioners have been held to be illegal occupants of a two storied house being MIG House No. M-38(D.S.) having an area of 66' X 81'= 5,346 sq. ft. (hereinafter to be referred as "the said house") and have been directed to vacate the said house within 30 days from the said order by depositing penalty of Rs.5,068.00 as calculated for the period till 12/5/2012 along with payment at the rate of Rs.50.00 per day per 100 sq. meter till the date of eviction from the said house failing which they would be evicted from the said house using police force after deputing magistrate and the expenses incurred for the same would be recovered from them.

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the said house was allotted by the respondent- Jharkhand State Housing Board (JSHB) to one Akhouri Anand Prakash (hereinafter to be referred as "the original allottee") vide allotment order no. 7293 dtd. 23/8/1974 who legally occupied the same on 17/2/1976 after executing agreement but he did not reside in the said house as he was already having another house allotted in his name. The original allottee rented the said house to the petitioners and since then they along with their family members have been residing there i.e. for last more than 40 years after coming in permissive possession of the same. In the year 1994, the original allottee instituted a title suit being T.S. No. 13 of 1994 against the petitioners which was decreed in his favour by the Additional Munsif-III, Ranchi vide judgment and decree dtd. 17/8/2005 and 23/8/2005 respectively with a direction to the petitioners to vacate the suit premises within two months. Being aggrieved with the said judgment and decree, the petitioners preferred appeal being Title Appeal No. 73/2005, however the same was dismissed vide judgment dtd. 1/12/2009 passed by the learned Additional Judicial Commissioner, Fast Track Court No.- VI, Ranchi upholding the judgment and decree passed in T.S. No. 13 of 1994. Subsequently, the allotment of the original allottee was cancelled on 13/4/2012 by the respondent-JSHB on the ground of violation of clause-20 of the agreement as well as clause-11 of the allotment order. Thereafter, the respondent no. 4 instituted Eviction Case No. 17 of 2012 before the respondent no. 6 against the petitioners in which notices were issued to them for their appearance on 28/9/2012. Pursuant to the said notice, the petitioners appeared on 28/9/2012 and sought a copy of the petition along with other documents filed in said case. However, neither any response was received thereafter nor any further date was intimated to the petitioners. In the meantime, the original allottee namely Akhouri Anand Prakash, being aggrieved with the order dtd. 13/4/2012 cancelling the allotment of the said house, preferred a writ petition being W.P.(C) No. 5507 of 2012 before this Court in which, vide order dtd. 21/1/2013, the parties were directed to maintain status-quo and not to create third party interest. The said writ petition is still pending. Subsequently in the year 2017, the Urban Development and Housing Department, Government of Jharkhand, vide notification no. 7/Misc.-11/2016-1817 dtd. 17/3/2017, took a decision to allot the houses of Jharkhand State Housing Board in favour of those persons who had been unauthorisedly residing in the Board's houses continuously for a minimum period of 10 years prior to issuance of the notification dtd. 17/3/2017. Since, the petitioners had been residing in the said house for more than 40 years, they filed an application dtd. 12/9/2017 before the respondent-JSHB for allotment of the said house in their favour. However, all of a sudden, nearly after 10 years, a notice dtd. 7/2/2022 was issued to the petitioners by the respondent no. 6 directing them to appear in the court of the said respondent on 18/2/2022 at 11.30 a.m. along with reply supported by evidence failing which ex-parte order would be passed. Though the said notice was received by the petitioners on 14/2/2022, yet they somehow prepared a reply and appeared in the office of the respondent no. 6 on 18/2/2022. Thereafter, no information regarding status of the case was given to the petitioners and suddenly, they received a copy of letter as contained in memo No 364 dtd. 28/2/2022 issued by the Estate Officer, JSHB, Ranchi (the respondent no. 5) to the Executive Engineer, JSHB, Ranchi Division (the respondent no. 4) including a copy of impugned order dtd. 18/2/2022 passed by the respondent no. 6 in Eviction Case No. 17 of 2012.