KAUSHAL KISHORE SINGH Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) LEARNED counsel appearing for the petitioners submits that land pertaining to Khata No. 91, Plot No. 1061 measuring area of 3.42 acres was originally belonged to Bengal Coal Company Ltd., who held the land as a Khewatdar. In the year 1930's one Raj Nandan Singh, father of petitioner No. 1 and Dev Nandan Singh, father of petitioner Nos. 2 & 3 came in possession of 38 decimals of the land pertaining to Plot No. 1061 and then constructed their houses. Petitioners' father went on residing peacefully over the land. In the year 1963, a notice was issued under Bihar Public Land Encroachment Act, 1956 whereupon, Raj Nandan Singh was called upon to show cause as to why not he ordered to be evicted. That was replied with thereafter what happened to the proceeding it is not known to the petitioners. But this is the fact that the petitioners' father had been coming in possession over the land since 1930's and as such had acquired right and title by prescription. Much thereafter in the year 1982, Jamabandi was created in the name of Raj Nandan Singh and then he started paying rent to the State of Bihar. Since then, the petitioners have been living peacefully but recently a notice has been issued as contained in Memo 668 dated 19.7.2014 whereby petitioners have been directed to remove encroachment within a week and, therefore, petitioners have filed this application for quashing of the notice as petitioners' ancestor and the petitioners have been living over the piece of land since 1930's and even Jamabandi of the land had been created in the name of father of the petitioners and thereby the petitioners cannot be said to have encroached the land. However, Shri Srijit Choudhary, learned counsel appearing for the State by referring to the said notice submits that by said notice petitioners have been directed to remove the encroachment as in the proceeding initiated under the Bihar Public Land Encroachment Act, 1956 order seems to have been passed for removing encroachment but that order has not been annexed.

(2.) LEARNED counsel for the petitioners submits that the petitioners are not aware of such an order and, therefore, this writ application has been filed. Be that as it may, since from Annexure 8, the notice dated 19.7.2014, it does appear that an order has been passed in a proceeding initiated under the Bihar Public Land Encroachment Act, 1956 against the petitioners for removing the encroachment, petitioners ought to have filed an appeal as the same is appealable order. Accordingly, this application is disposed of giving liberty to the petitioners to file an appeal within a period of 7 days from today making a prayer for stay of the operation passed in Bihar Public Land Encroachment proceeding. However, till the filing of the appeal petitioners shall not be removed from land in question.