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Chattisgarh High Court
Mahadev vs State Of Chhattisgarh on 10 April, 2026
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RAGHVENDRA signed by
2026:CGHC:16585
JAT RAGHVENDRA
JAT
NAFR
HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR
WPC No. 1660 of 2026
1 - Mahadev S/o. Laxmikant Aged About 45 Years R/o. Village-
Fundurdihari, Police Station Gandhinagar, Tehsil- Ambikapur District
Surguja Chhattisgarh, Permanent R/o.- Village Jharna Aaur, District-
Bardhaman West Bengal.
2 - Jayadev S/o. Late Ganesh Aged About 32 Years R/o. Village-
Fundurdihar, Police Station Gandhinagar, Tehsil- Ambikapur District
Surguja Chhattisgarh, Permanent R/o.- Village Jharna Aaur, District-
Bardhaman West Bengal.
3 - Vasudev S/o. Late. Ganesh Aged About 26 Years R/o. Village-
Fundurdihar, Police Station Gandhinagar, Tehsil- Ambikapur District
Surguja Chhattisgarh, Permanent R/o.- Village Jharna Aaur, District-
Bardhaman West Bengal.
... Petitioner(s)
versus
1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through- Secretary, Department Of Revenue
And Disaster Management, Mantralaya, Mahanadi Bhawan, Nava
Raipur, Distt.- Raipur (C.G.).
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2 - The Commissioner Surguja Division, Ambikapur, Distt.- Surguja
(C.G.).
3 - The Collector Ambikapur, Distt.- Surguja (C.G.).
4 - Sub-Divisional Officer (R) Ambikapur, Distt.- Surguja (C.G.).
5 - Tehsildar Ambikapur, Distt.- Surguja (C.G.).
6 - Dupety Registrar Ambikapur Ambikapur, Distt.- Surguja (C.G.).
7 - Ashish Agrawal S/o. Satyanarayan Agrawal Aged About 36 Years
R/o. Kundla City Agrasen Ward, Ambikapur, Police Station And Tahsil
Ambikapur, District Surguja, Chhattisgarh.
... Respondent(s)
For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Sajal Kumar Gupta, Advocate.
For Respondent(s)/State : Mr. S. S. Choubey, G.A.
Hon'ble Mr. Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad
Order on Board
10/04/2026
1. By way of this petition, the petitioner has prayed for following
reliefs:-
"a) Issue an appropriate writ, order or direction directing
Respondent No. 3 Collector, Surguja, to decide the
petitioner's application for grant of permission to sell
rehabilitation land under Section 165(7-B) of the
Chhattisgarh Land Revenue Code, dated 09.02.2022,
which is pending since four years, within a stipulated
time frame, preferably within an outer limit of 15 days;
b) Pass any other order or direction which this Hon'ble
Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and
circumstances of the case, in the interest of justice.
And for this act of kindness, the petitioner as in duty
bound shall ever pray."
2. Brief facts of the case, is that, the present writ petition has been
filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking
issuance of an appropriate writ, order, or direction to the Collector,
Surguja (Respondent No. 3), to decide the petitioners' pending
application dated 09.02.2022, which was submitted for grant of
permission to sell rehabilitation land under Section 165(7-B) of the
Chhattisgarh Land Revenue Code. The petitioners are recorded
co-owners and are in lawful possession of the rehabilitation land
situated at Village Fundurdihari, Tehsil Ambikapur, District
Surguja, which was originally allotted to their predecessors by the
Rehabilitation Department, Government of India. Owing to
financial exigencies, including medical requirements and the need
for house repairs, the petitioners entered into an agreement to sell
a portion of the said land to a private respondent after receiving
part consideration, subject to obtaining requisite permission from
the competent authority. In furtherance thereof, the petitioners
duly preferred an application before the Collector on 09.02.2022,
which was processed in accordance with law, and consequential
revenue proceedings were initiated before the Tehsildar. It is
submitted that all statutory formalities, including issuance and
publication of notice, conduct of inquiry, recording of statements,
and submission of reports by the concerned authorities, were duly
completed during the period 2022-2023; no objections were
received from any quarter, and the reports submitted were
favourable to the petitioners. However, despite completion of the
entire process and repeated representations, the Collector has
failed to decide the said application for more than four years,
thereby causing grave financial hardship and prejudice to the
petitioners. Such inaction on the part of the respondent authority
is arbitrary, unreasonable, and violative of Articles 14 and 21 of
the Constitution of India. The petitioners, having no other
efficacious alternative remedy, have approached this Hon'ble
Court seeking expeditious disposal of their application within a
fixed and reasonable time frame. Hence, this petition.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the petitioners
had preferred an application under Section 165(7-B) of the
Chhattisgarh Land Revenue Code seeking permission to sell their
land, which was duly filed on 09.02.2022; however, despite the
lapse of a considerable period, the said application has not yet
been adjudicated by the concerned Collector, Ambikapur, District
Surguja. It is further contended that, in view of such inaction, the
present petition has been instituted seeking a direction to the said
authority to decide the application within a stipulated and
reasonable timeframe. From the averments made in the petition,
duly supported by an affidavit, as well as from the perusal of the
order sheet, it appears that the proceedings were initiated on
22.02.2022; however, even after the passage of more than three
years, no final order has been passed. It is also submitted that the
concerned Tahsildar, acting upon the instructions of the Collector,
had already submitted a report on 25.05.2022, yet the matter
continues to remain pending without any decision to date.
4. On the other hand, learned counsel appearing for the State
opposes the submissions advanced on behalf of the petitioners
and contends that the relief sought is misconceived, untenable in
law, and devoid of merit, and therefore does not warrant any
interference by this Hon'ble Court.
5. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the
material available on record.
6. It is indeed surprising that, instead of adjudicating the application,
the same has been kept pending without any plausible or
justifiable reason; accordingly, considering the facts and
circumstances of the case, the concerned Collector, Ambikapur,
District Surguja, is hereby directed to consider and decide the said
application strictly in accordance with law within a period of 30
days from the date of receipt of a copy of this order, and the
Collector shall further ensure that a compliance report in this
regard is duly forwarded to the Registrar General of this Hon'ble
Court within the stipulated period.
7. If any application is filed before the concerned Collector, it is
incumbent upon the said authority to consider and decide the
same in accordance with law within a reasonable period of time;
the Collector cannot be permitted to keep such application
pending indefinitely or for an unduly prolonged duration without
any justifiable cause.
8. With this observation and direction, the writ petition is disposed
of.
Sd/-
(Amitendra Kishore Prasad)
Judge
Raghu Jat
