Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Apr 23: The Division Bench of High Court upheld the order of revenue courts as also the judgment of writ court with regard to protection of 11,000 kanals of state land from encroachments.
The Division Bench of Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice Sanjay Parihar dismissed the appeal challenging the writ court judgment whereby the court had upheld the orders of Settlement Commissioner and Financial Commissioner ordering for protection of 11000 kanals of state land from encroachments.
The subject land is a State land measuring approximately 11,000 Kanals, commonly known as Musber Thang, and Thunder Thang. The appellant-villagers, apprehending that this big chunk of land may be encroached upon by the contesting respondent-villagers as such approached the Commissioner, Survey and Land Records, (ex-officio Settlement Commissioner), J&K, Srinagar, by way of a revision petition filed in terms of Section 15 of the J&K Land Revenue Act.
The contention of appellant-villagers in the appeal was that the Writ Court having found that the order passed by the Settlement Commissioner and upheld by the Financial Commissioner (Revenue) had created a sort of confusion, in that, it was not clear as to whether the directions for management of the State land measuring approximately 11,000 Kanals includes the 1500 Kanals in respect of which mutations have been attested in favour of the contesting respondent-villagers.
“There is no dispute with regard to the fact that the State land lying unutilized anywhere in the Union Territory of Ladakh is required to be protected by the Revenue Department. All the requisite steps are required to be taken so as to ensure that no illegal encroachment takes place. We do appreciate the concern shown by the appellants as public-spirited persons to protect the State land”, the DB said.
The DB while upholding the judgment under challenge said , the writ court took a correct view in the matter and remanded the case back to the Financial Commissioner, so that the contesting respondent-villagers are afforded a fresh opportunity of being heard and the issue as to whether the land measuring 1500 Kanals in respect of which there are mutations attested by the competent revenue officers in favour of the contesting respondents is part of 11,000 Kanals of State land is effectively determined. “For all these reasons we find no merit in this appeal, the same is, accordingly, dismissed”, the bench concluded.
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