AI Structured Summary
Not yet generated for this judgment
Judgment
Sunil Kumar Sinha, J.
Heard.
Being aggrieved with the order dated 9.4.2007. passed by the learned Single Judge of this Court in Writ Petition (C) No. 2018/07. the appellants/ petitioners have filed this writ appeal.
The facts briefly stated are as under:
The respondent No. 1 filed an application before the Collector, Rajnandgaon. for allotment of Government land admeasuring 79.94 acres situated in Village-Nadiya. District-Rajnandgaon. The matter was transferred to Tahsildar for enquiry, which was registered as Revenue Case No. 01/A-19 (1) Year 2004-05. In the said revenue proceedings, the appellants/petitioners filed an objection. Their contention was that the said land was declared as surplus land under the provisions of Chhattisgarh Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings Act, 1960 (for short "the Act, 1960") and the same was allotted to Sant Kabir Sahakari Samiti Maryadit, Nadia for agriculture purposes. Since the petitioners were the members of the said Samiti, therefore, now the land be allotted to them in preference to respondent No. 1 or other persons. This objection was dismissed by the Tahsildar on the ground that on account of default in performance, the said Samiti was dissolved and the land re-vested in the State Government and in the said manner, it became Government land, therefore, an allotment in general form under the Revenue Book Circular Part-IV-3 would be made and no preferential rights can be claimed on the basis of Section 35 of the Act, 1960. This order was challenged in revision before the Collector in Revenue Case No. 01-A/19 (1) year 2005-06. The Collector also took the same view and dismissed the revision filed by the appellants/petitioners. It is after all this; the appellants/petitioners preferred the writ petition, which was dismissed by the learned Single Judge.
The Revenue Authorities as well as the learned Single Jude took the view that the provisions of allotment of surplus land u/s 35 of the Act, 1960 can be exercised only once on vesting of the land in the State Government. After the revesting in the said manner, the Government becomes the owner of the said land and the same is treated as Government land simplicitor and thereafter the provisions of the Revenue Book Circular Part-IV-3 would apply.
Chapter VI of the Madhya Pradesh (Chhattisgarh) Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings Act. 1960 deals with disposal of surplus land. Section 35 deals with the allotment of surplus land vested in the State Government under the Act, 1960. It provides that subject to the provisions of this Act and the rules framed there under surplus land vested in the State u/s 12 shall be allotted in Bumiswami rights to the persons mentioned in this Section in the order of priority as indicated therein on payment of premium equivalent to the compensation payable in respect of such land.
A perusal of the Section as also the other indicated provisions of the Act, it would be clear that powers for allotment of surplus land vested in the Government, u/s 35, can be exercised only once and if an exigency of re-vesting arises, the impediment of Section 35 of the Act, 1960 would not be applied and the land shall be treated as ordinary Government land and its further allotment would be permissible under the other provisions of law including the provisions of Revenue Book Circular (RBC).
The Revenue Authorities as also the learned Single Judge has taken the same view. Therefore, we do not find any substance in this appeal; the appeal is liable to be dismissed and is accordingly dismissed at the admission stage itself.