Jagtar Singh Ors. Vs. State of Uttarakhand Ors[ SC 2018 February]

KEYWORDS:- WRIT APPEAL- LAND RECORD-MUTATION

DATE:-February 02, 2018

“Supervisor Qanoongo could not have made entries in favour of the appellants without giving public notice and without giving notice to the legal heirs of Teja Singh. The dispute is as to which of the parties is in possession of the land. The High Court erred in directing that the names of both the parties should be removed. This could not have been done”.

ACTS:-  U.P. Consolidation of Holdings Act-Land Records Manual

SUPREME COURT OF INDIAIndia Bharat Varsha (Jambu Dvipa) is the name of this land mass. The people of this land are Sanatan Dharmin and they always defeated invaders. Indra (10000 yrs) was the oldest deified King of this land. Manu's jurisprudence enlitened this land. Vedas have been the civilizational literature of this land. Guiding principles of this land are : सत्यं वद । धर्मं चर । स्वाध्यायान्मा प्रमदः । Read more

Jagtar Singh Ors. Vs. State of Uttarakhand Ors.

[Civil Appeal No(S). 1497 of 2018 @ SLP (C) No(S).5278 of 2014]

Deepak Gupta J.

1. Leave granted.

2. This appeal is directed against the judgmentJudgment The statement given by the Judge on the grounds of a decree or order - CPC 2(9). It contains a concise statement of the case, points for determination, the decision thereon, and the reasons for such decision - Order 20 Rule 4(2).  Section 354 of CrPC requires that every judgment shall contain points for determination, the decision thereon and the reasons for the decision. Indian Supreme Court Decisions > Law declared by Supreme Court to be binding on all courts (Art 141 Indian Constitution) Civil and judicial authorities to act in aid of the Supreme Court (Art 144) Supreme Court Network On Judiciary – Portal > Denning: “Judges do not speak, as do actors, to please. They do not speak, as do advocates, to persuade. They do not speak, as do historians, to recount the past. They speak to give Judgment. And in their judgments, you will find passages, which are worthy to rank with the greatest literature….” Law Points on Judgment Writing > The judge must write to provide an easy-to-understand analysis of the issues of law and fact which arise for decision. Judgments are primarily meant for those whose cases are decided by judges (State Bank of India and Another Vs Ajay Kumar Sood SC 2022) and order dated 29.07.2013 passed in Writ Petition No. 3791 of 2001 whereby the writ petition filed by the petitioners was dismissed.

3. The facts giving rise to this appeal are that the land, which is the subject matter of dispute, was earlier shown in possession of one Teja Singh and entry in this behalf was reflected in Varg-4 of the revenue record. After Teja Singh died, his name was substituted by Appellant Harbhajan Kaur (since deceased) by the Supervisor Qanoongo since he found her to be in possession of the land. Jagir Singh and Karnail Singh, sons of Teja Singh, filed objections under the U.P. Consolidation of Holdings Act claiming that after the death of their father, they being the sons continued to be in possession of the land and their name should have been recorded in the revenue record. These objections were dismissed.

However, on appeal being filed by the sons, the Settlement Officer, Consolidation set aside the order passed by the Consolidation Officer and directed that the names of Jagir Singh and Karnail Singh be recorded in the revenue records. Revision filed before the Deputy Director of Consolidation was dismissed and thereafter, the writ petition was filed.

4. The High Court held that though Para 423 of the Land Records Manual authorizes the Supervisor Qanoongo to make entry of possession in remarks column but it shall be done after full publicity about his visit. In this case, neither publicity was done nor notice was given to the legal heirs of Teja Singh and, therefore, both the Settlement Officer and the Deputy Director, Consolidation were justified in quashing the entries made in favour of the present appellants. The High Court went on to hold as follows:

“In the impugned orders passed by the S.O.C. and D.D.C., so far as the finding that the Supervisor Qanoongo has no right to correct the entry in revenue record, which is already in existence, is concerned, this finding is affirmed, but so far as the direction given to enter the names of Karnail Singh and Jagir Singh on the land in dispute is concerned, the same is quashed and it is held that the entry of petitioners and the respondents cannot continue in revenue record after consolidation and it is directed that entry of Varg-4 be deleted from the land in question of both the parties, petitioners as well as the respondents.”

5. We are in agreementContract An agreement enforceable by law is a contract. All agreements are contracts if they are made by the free consent of parties competent to contract, for a lawful consideration and with a lawful object, and are not hereby expressly declared to be void. Indian Contract Act. with the aforesaid findings to the extent that Supervisor Qanoongo could not have made entries in favour of the appellants without giving public notice and without giving notice to the legal heirs of Teja Singh. The dispute is as to which of the parties is in possession of the land. The High Court erred in directing that the names of both the parties should be removed. This could not have been done.

Therefore, the direction of the High Court that the entry of possession cannot continue in favour of either of the parties is set aside. The matter is remanded to the Supervisor Qanoongo, who after hearing both the sides, shall decide as to who is in legal possession of the land in dispute and thereafter make relevant entry in the revenue records.

6. The appeal is disposed of in the above terms. Pending applications, if any, shall also stand disposed of.

J. (Madan B. Lokur)

J. (Deepak Gupta)

New Delhi

February 02, 2018