Smt. Usha Dewangan vs State Of Chhattisgarh on 27 March, 2026

            Digitally signed by
YOGESH YOGESH TIWARI
TIWARI Date: 2026.03.28
       15:43:32 +0530




                                                                       1




                                                                                        2026:CGHC:14664


                                                                                                  NAFR



                                           HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR


                                                          WPC No. 2719 of 2020


                                  1 - Smt. Usha Dewangan W/o Shri Keshav Dewangan Aged About 38
                                  Years R/o Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada,
                                  Tahsil And District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada,
                                  Chhattisgarh


                                  2 - Ku. Jyoti Jhari D/o Late Simaiya Jhadi Aged About 44 Years R/o
                                  Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
                                  District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


                                  3 - Sushila Yadav W/o Kamlu Ram Yadav Aged About 36 Years R/o
                                  Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
                                  District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


                                  4 - Kamli Bai W/o Shankar Aged About 52 Years R/o Hudco Colony,
                                  Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And District -
                                  Dantewada      Chhattisgarh.,   District   :   Dantewada,   Chhattisgarh


                                  5 - M. Venukumari W/o M Ramesh Kumar Aged About 42 Years R/o
                                  Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
                                  District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh
                                    2


6 - Chhaganlal Khaparde S/o S S Khaperde Aged About 56 Years R/o
Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


7 - Kristriya Kumar Jhadi S/o Lachhaiya Khadi Aged About 45 Years R/o
Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


8 - Pankaj Singh Paikra S/o A P Paikra Aged About 38 Years R/o Hudco
Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And District -
Dantewada    Chhattisgarh.,   District   :   Dantewada,   Chhattisgarh


9 - Chandra W/o Lachhu Kashyap Aged About 40 Years R/o Hudco
Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And District -
Dantewada    Chhattisgarh.,   District   :   Dantewada,   Chhattisgarh


10 - Aradhana Rathore W/o Dharmendra Rathore Aged About 34 Years
R/o Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


11 - Uma Sonani W/o Dikson Sonani Aged About 40 Years R/o Hudco
Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And District -
Dantewada    Chhattisgarh.,   District   :   Dantewada,   Chhattisgarh


12 - Aasmati W/o Dhan Singh Aged About 80 Years R/o Hudco Colony,
Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And District -
Dantewada    Chhattisgarh.,   District   :   Dantewada,   Chhattisgarh


13 - Vimla Pal D/o Narayan Pal Aged About 31 Years R/o Hudco
Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And District -
Dantewada    Chhattisgarh.,   District   :   Dantewada,   Chhattisgarh


14 - Duleshwari Thakur W/o Santosh Kumar Aged About 40 Years R/o
                                    3


Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dhamtari, Chhattisgarh


15 - Ram Narayan Nag S/o M L Nag Aged About 51 Years R/o Hudco
Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And District -
Dantewada    Chhattisgarh.,   District   :   Dantewada,   Chhattisgarh


16 - Anita Thakur W/o Rakesh Thakur Aged About 35 Years R/o Hudco
Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And District -
Dantewada    Chhattisgarh.,   District   :   Dantewada,   Chhattisgarh


17 - Sangeeta Korram W/o Vijay Kumar Korram Aged About 25 Years
R/o Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


18 - Champa Sonani W/o Ranjit Singh Sonani Aged About 36 Years R/o
Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


19 - Kaleshwari Mahanand W/o Nitin Mahanand Aged About 34 Years
R/o Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


20 - Kanak Baghel W/o Basant Baghel Aged About 50 Years R/o Hudco
Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And District -
Dantewada    Chhattisgarh.,   District   :   Dantewada,   Chhattisgarh


21 - Lalita Manjhi W/o Ashok Kumar Manjhi Aged About 32 Years R/o
Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


22 - Sonmati Baghel W/o Kamlachand Bghel Aged About 30 Years R/o
Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
                                    4


District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


23 - Anti Nagesh W/o Lakhbandhu Aged About 45 Years R/o Hudco
Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And District -
Dantewada    Chhattisgarh.,   District   :   Dantewada,   Chhattisgarh


24 - Leela Sori D/o Podiya Sori Aged About 40 Years R/o Hudco Colony,
Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And District -
Dantewada    Chhattisgarh.,   District   :   Dantewada,   Chhattisgarh


25 - Vedika Thakur W/o Kanhaiya Thakur Aged About 32 Years R/o
Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


26 - Usha Pal W/o Narayan Aged About 52 Years R/o Hudco Colony,
Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And District -
Dantewada    Chhattisgarh.,   District   :   Dantewada,   Chhattisgarh


27 - Sushila Sonani W/o Ugrasen Sonani Aged About 55 Years R/o
Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


28 - Geeta Nishad W/o Arun Nishad Aged About 32 Years R/o Hudco
Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And District -
Dantewada    Chhattisgarh.,   District   :   Dantewada,   Chhattisgarh


29 - Kanchan Ram Sahu S/o Makhan Lal Sahu Aged About 45 Years
R/o Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


30 - Chetan Bhaskar W/o Sudarshan Bhaskar Aged About 34 Years R/o
Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh
                                    5




31 - Usha Bai Kashyap W/o Bhaduram Kashyap Aged About 35 Years
R/o Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


32 - Padma Kanti W/o Gopal Kanti Aged About 46 Years R/o Hudco
Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And District -
Dantewada    Chhattisgarh.,   District   :   Dantewada,   Chhattisgarh


33 - Urmila Devi Sahu W/o Mohitlal Sahu Aged About 30 Years R/o
Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


34 - Dhaniram Nishad S/o Mangal Ram Nishad Aged About 60 Years
R/o Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


35 - Leela Kunjam W/o Lavhu Ram Kunjam Aged About 32 Years R/o
Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


36 - Mahendra Kokila S/o Bhima Ram Kokila Aged About 48 Years R/o
Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


37 - Manish Dahriya S/o Sandeep Dahriya Aged About 27 Years R/o
Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


38 - Kanchaan Sahu W/o Bharat Lal Sahu Aged About 35 Years R/o
Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh
                                    6


39 - Subhawati Yadav W/o Vimal Kumar Yadav Aged About 36 Years
R/o Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


40 - Sukari Bai Kashyap W/o Bhavda Kashyap Aged About 52 Years
R/o Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


41 - Mina Devi Sahu W/o Gendlal Sahu Aged About 27 Years R/o
Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


42 - Gourishankar Sahu S/o Premlal Sahu Aged About 25 Years R/o
Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


43 - Bhuneshwari W/o Manmohan Lal Thakur Aged About 28 Years R/o
Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


44 - Indra Bai W/o Brijal Lal Aged About 48 Years R/o Hudco Colony,
Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And District -
Dantewada    Chhattisgarh.,   District   :   Dantewada,   Chhattisgarh


45 - Laxmi Chidem W/o Ajay Chidem Aged About 26 Years R/o Hudco
Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And District -
Dantewada    Chhattisgarh.,   District   :   Dantewada,   Chhattisgarh


46 - Mamta Baghel W/o Pankaj Baghel Aged About 32 Years R/o Hudco
Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And District -
Dantewada    Chhattisgarh.,   District   :   Dantewada,   Chhattisgarh


47 - Savitri Nag W/o Ashok Kumar Nag Aged About 26 Years R/o Hudco
                                      7


Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And District -
Dantewada      Chhattisgarh.,   District   :   Dantewada,   Chhattisgarh


48 - Lalita Yadav W/o Surendra Yadav Aged About 50 Years R/o Hudco
Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And District -
Dantewada      Chhattisgarh.,   District   :   Dantewada,   Chhattisgarh


49 - Bimla Bai Netam W/o Muniram Netam Aged About 35 Years R/o
Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


50 - Kamal Kishor Komre S/o B R Komre Aged About 40 Years R/o
Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


51 - Vinayak Kanhekar S/o Sukhdeo Kanhekar Aged About 45 Years
R/o Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


52 - Dilip Kumar Netam S/o Puran Lal Netam Aged About 45 Years R/o
Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


53 - Ganeshwar Prasad S/o Bhagwat Prasad Sahu Aged About 38
Years R/o Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada,
Tahsil And District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada,
Chhattisgarh


54 - Jyoti Dehari W/o Kaushik Dehari Aged About 38 Years R/o Hudco
Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And District -
Dantewada      Chhattisgarh.,   District   :   Dantewada,   Chhattisgarh


55 - Sumitra Thakur W/o Narendra Thakur Aged About 36 Years R/o
                                         8


Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada, Tahsil And
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh


56 - Geeta Thakur W/o Late Rajendra Singh Thakur Aged About 40
Years R/o Hudco Colony, Awarbhatha, Police Station - Dantewada,
Tahsil And District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada,
Chhattisgarh
                                                             ... Petitioners


                                   versus


1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through - The Secretary Department Of
Revenue And Emergency Management Mantralaya, Mahanadi Bhawan,
Atal Nagar, Nawa Raipur Chhattisgarh., District : Raipur, Chhattisgarh


2 - Collector, Dantewada District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District :
Dantewada,                                                    Chhattisgarh


3 - Sub - Divisional Officer (Revenue) Dantewada District - Dantewada
Chhattisgarh.,      District        :       Dantewada,        Chhattisgarh


4 - Municipal Council, Dantewada, Through Its Chief Municipal Officer,
District - Dantewada Chhattisgarh., District : Dantewada, Chhattisgarh
                                                         ... Respondents

(Cause-title taken from Case Information System)

For Petitioners : Mr. N. Naha Roy, Advocate

For State/Respondents : Ms. Akanksha Verma, Panel Lawyer No.1 to 3

For Respondent No.4 : Mr. Vedant Shadangi, Advocate on behalf of Mr. Mateen Siddiqui, Advocate

Hon'ble Shri Amitendra Kishore Prasad, Judge Order on Board 27.03.2026

1 By filing the present petition, the petitioners have prayed for

following relief(s) :-

"10.1 Issue an appropriate writ in the nature of mandamus and call for the records of the matter to confirm about the so called enquiry conducted by the respondents prior to passing of the decision impugned herein.

10.2 Issue an appropriate writ in the nature of mandamus and quash the impugned decision taken on the petitioner's request for grant of Patta and communicated in the form of an enquiry report dated 17.07.2020 sent through a letter dated 31.08.2020, by an authority not competent for the same.

10.3 Issue an appropriate writ in the nature of mandamus and command the respondents to consider the cases of petitioners for grant of permanent patta in view of their long possession of the government 'Nazul' land, followed by Bhumiswami rights in exact terms of the object of the state government as reflected through various instructions from time to time.

10.4 Grant any other relief that the Hon'ble High Court may deem fit."

2 Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the petitioners

have been residing for the last about three decades in Village

Awarbhatha, District Dantewada, over the land bearing Khasra No.

55/1, which is recorded as Government Nazul land, and have

constructed their dwelling houses at their own cost after the initial

incomplete construction under the HUDCO scheme was

abandoned midway. It is contended that such long, continuous and

peaceful possession of the petitioners has remained unquestioned

by the authorities, and even the Municipal Council has recognized

their occupation by assigning house numbers and regularly

collecting rent/taxes from them. It is further submitted that the

State Government, through various circulars issued under the

provisions of the Chhattisgarh Land Revenue Code, 1959,

particularly the circular dated 12.02.2015 and subsequent circular

dated 11.09.2019, has laid down a specific policy for regularization

of Nazul land by grant of patta to persons in long possession, such

as the petitioners. Despite the petitioners fulfilling all the requisite

conditions, their claim has not been considered in accordance with

the prescribed procedure, and instead, an enquiry report has been

prepared behind their back, without affording any opportunity of

hearing and without following the mandate of the applicable

circulars.

3 Learned counsel further submits that the enquiry report impugned

in the present petition is wholly arbitrary, illegal and without

jurisdiction, inasmuch as the same has been prepared by an

authority not competent to take a final decision in the matter. It is

contended that the procedure prescribed under the Revenue Book

Circulars, requiring due verification, consultation with concerned

authorities, and satisfaction of the Collector, has been completely

bypassed, thereby vitiating the entire decision-making process. It

is also submitted that the petitioners had already submitted a

detailed representation/application dated 17.06.2020 (Annexure

P/7) before the competent authority seeking grant of

patta/Bhumiswami rights in their favour, followed by several

reminders. However, the said representation is still pending

consideration and has not been decided till date. Learned counsel,

therefore, confines the relief in the present petition to a limited

extent and prays that a direction be issued to the respondent

authorities to consider and decide the petitioners' representation

(Annexure P/7) in accordance with law within a stipulated period.

4 On the other hand, learned counsel appearing for the State

submits that the respondent authorities have no objection if the

representation preferred by the petitioners is considered and

decided in accordance with law. It is fairly submitted that in case

this Court grants liberty and fixes a time frame, the competent

authority shall examine the petitioners' representation (Annexure

P/7) objectively and pass a reasoned and speaking order, strictly

in accordance with the applicable rules, circulars and governing

provisions. It is further submitted that the authorities shall ensure

that due opportunity of hearing is afforded to all concerned parties

and the decision shall be taken expeditiously within the time as

may be granted by this Court.

5 Having heard learned counsel for the parties at length and on due

consideration of the pleadings, documents and submissions

placed on record, this Court is of the considered opinion that,

without entering into the merits of the rival claims or expressing

any opinion on the entitlement of the petitioners, the ends of

justice would be adequately met if a direction is issued to the

competent authority to consider and decide the pending

representation of the petitioners in accordance with law. It is

evident that the petitioners have already approached the authority

by way of a detailed representation (Annexure P/7), which is

stated to be pending consideration. In such circumstances, this

Court deems it appropriate, in exercise of its jurisdiction under

Article 226 of the Constitution of India, to dispose of the present

writ petition at this stage with a direction for expeditious

consideration of the said representation, so that the grievance of

the petitioners is addressed in a lawful, fair and transparent

manner by the authority competent to do so.

6 Accordingly, it is directed that the petitioners shall appear before

the concerned competent authority along with a certified copy of

this order within a period of two weeks from today. Upon such

appearance, the competent authority shall duly entertain and

examine the representation (Annexure P/7) in its proper

perspective, taking into consideration all relevant facts, documents

and applicable statutory provisions, as well as the circulars

governing the field. The authority shall also ensure strict

adherence to the principles of natural justice by affording a

reasonable opportunity of hearing to the petitioners and to all other

affected/interested parties, if any. Thereafter, a reasoned and

speaking order shall be passed, dealing with all the contentions

raised by the petitioners, in accordance with law. The entire

exercise shall be carried out with due diligence and expedition,

preferably within a period of 90 days from the date of appearance

of the petitioners, and the decision so taken shall be duly

communicated to the petitioners forthwith.

7 With the aforesaid observations/directions, the instant writ petition

stands disposed of. No order as to costs.

Sd/-

(Amitendra Kishore Prasad) Judge Yogesh