Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, June 28: High Court has held that the higher officers of the Revenue Department can exercise their power to withdraw or transfer the cases pending before their subordinates and can decide them on merits while exercising power of transfers under law.
It has been held by the court of Justice Moksha Kazmi while dismissing a writ petition challenging therein a chain of Revenue orders culminating in the partition of agricultural land in district Udhampur. The dispute was with regard to the land measuring approximately 24 kanals allegedly came to the petitioners’ share by way of a private family partition.
The dispute arose when the land in question appreciated in value due to its proximity of a road, the respondent-other partners began asserting fresh claims, seeking a repartition of the land. In 2013, the petitioners approached the Assistant Commissioner Revenue, Udhampur, who passed an interim order directing both parties to maintain possession. Meanwhile, the other parties moved an application before the Tehsildar concerned for correction of Girdawari entries.
Upon inquiry, the Naib Tehsildar concerned opined that the respondents possessed less land than the petitioners and advised that partition not correction was the appropriate remedy. The Tehsildar proceeded to order partition without giving the petitioners an opportunity to file a written response. In response, the petitioners filed an application under Section 10 of the Land Revenue Act before the Deputy Commissioner, Udhampur, seeking transfer of the proceedings from the Tehsildar concerned to a neutral revenue officer who dismissed the transfer application but simultaneously ruled on the merits, directing deletion of Girdawari entries in the petitioners’ favour.
The petitioners contend that the Deputy Commissioner had exceeded his jurisdiction by deciding the substantive issues of possession and partition instead of merely adjudicating on the question of transfer of case as prayed by them.
“The Financial Commissioner or a Divisional Commissioner or a Collector may withdraw any case pending before any Revenue Officer under his control and either dispose off it himself, or by written order refer it for disposal to any other Revenue Officer under his control”, the court said.
Underscoring the essence of Section 10 of the Act, the court said that it not only empowers the authority to transfer cases but also to dispose off them on merits, provided the officer has jurisdiction over the subject matter.
The court rejected the contentions of the petitioners that the Deputy Commissioner had acted beyond his authority and held that since the petitioners themselves had invoked Section 10 and the proceedings were conducted under its mandate, they could not later claim lack of jurisdiction.
The court said that officers such as the Collector, Divisional Commissioner and Financial Commissioner are legally empowered to decide matters on merits while exercising their authority to withdraw and transfer cases pending before subordinate Revenue Officers.
“Since partition had already been carried out and implemented by the Tehsildar, and the appeal against it was dismissed, nothing further survived for adjudication, the court maintained”, read the judgment.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
