Rajasthan High Court: The Bench of Pushpendra Singh Bhati, J., allowed the writ petition filed to challenge the order passed by the District Collector whereby revision petition was allowed and the valid pattas issued to the petitioner were cancelled.
The facts of the case were that the petitioners were in peaceful possession of the land under the questioned pattas before the revisions came to be instituted. The pattas were lawfully issued to the petitioners after due enquiry and following the requisite procedure provided under the Panchayati Raj Act and the Land Allotment Rules. The revisional authority went on to delve into disputed questions of facts and proceeded to quash the pattas of land lawfully issued to the petitioners without any justification.
The Court was convinced that the revisional authority acted in an unjust manner as the revision came to be instituted after a few years from the date of issuance of the pattas. Further, no reason or cause was set up in the pleadings of the revisions as to why the pattas issued to the petitioners, who belonged to the weaker sections of the society were being challenged after a gross delay. The administration being the revisionist did not set up a case that it was not aware of these pattas for all these years. A period of three years should normally be sufficient to be treated to be the outer limit for entertaining a challenge to a patta or any such allotment. The Court thus allowed the petition. [Bhiku Kanwar v. State Of Rajasthan, S.B. Civil Writ No. 4611/2019, Order dated 27-03-2019]
