Gujarat High Court
Rajeshbhai Kanjibhai Dabhi vs State Of Gujarat on 7 December, 2022
Bench: A.Y. Kogje
C/SCA/14656/2022 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/12/2022
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 14656 of 2022
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 14659 of 2022
With
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 14670 of 2022
FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A.Y. KOGJE Sd/-
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1 Whether Reporters of Local Papers may be allowed NO
to see the judgment ?
2 To be referred to the Reporter or not ? NO
3 Whether their Lordships wish to see the fair copy NO
of the judgment ?
4 Whether this case involves a substantial question NO
of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution
of India or any order made thereunder ?
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RAJESHBHAI KANJIBHAI DABHI
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT
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Appearance:
MR ANKIT SHAH(6371) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
for the Respondent(s) No. 10,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
MR JAYNEEL PARIKH, AGP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A.Y. KOGJE
Date : 07/12/2022
ORAL JUDGMENT
1. These writ petitions are arising out of identical facts and
are raising the same issues. Therefore, they are taken up for
C/SCA/14656/2022 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/12/2022
hearing jointly and are being disposed of by this common
judgment and order.
2. For the sake of convenience, the Special Civil Application
No.14656 of 2022 is treated as the lead matter.
3. By this writ petition filed under Article 226 of the
Constitution of India, the petitioner has prayed for the following
reliefs :
"(b) Your Lordships may be pleased to issue a writ of
certiorari and/or any other appropriate writ, order or
direction in the nature of certiorari quashing and setting
aside the order dated 25.5.2022 passed by Ld. Special
Secretary Revenue Department, Ahmedabad - respondent
no.2 herein in Revision Application No.MVV/BKP/MRB/02/
2020 (Annexure-A), in the interest of justice.
(c) Your Lordships may be pleased to issue a writ of
certiorari and/or any other appropriate writ, order or
direction in the nature of certiorari quashing and setting
aside the order dated 29.5.2019 passed by Ld. Collector,
Morbi granting N.A. permission and converting land bearing
Survey No.1098/p2/p1/1 admeasuring 14254.00 sq.mtrs.
of village Vajepar, Tal. Morbi by being ORDER
NO.CB/NA/MORBI/VAJEPAR/1098/p2/p1/p1/1009477/
2019 dated 29.3.2019 and converting it from agriculture to
non-agriculture use (Annexure-C), in the interest of justice."
C/SCA/14656/2022 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/12/2022
4. Learned advocate for the petitioner, at the outset, has
submitted that the revision application filed by the petitioner
before the SSRD was not entertained by citing the previous
round of litigation, wherein the same issue was also the subject
matter of challenge before the SSRD and was finally decided on
30th August 2019 and thereafter there is no further challenge to
the said order. Hence, the SSRD refused to exercise jurisdiction.
5. Learned advocate for the petitioner has submitted that the
proceedings which were cited by the SSRD were not initiated by
a separate individual, though he may be related, but the right of
the petitioner independently existed in the subject land and,
therefore, by invoking the principle of res judicata, the revision
application could not have been filed by the authorities.
6. Learned advocate for the petitioner has further submitted
that the subject land is also the subject matter in the Regular
Civil Suit No.280 of 2019 before the Principal Civil Judge, which
is still under consideration.
7. It is submitted that as the reliefs claimed in the civil suit
goes to the root of the matter, therefore, it is prayed that the
outcome of the civil suit may be taken into consideration by the
revenue authority, which the revenue authority has not
addressed in the impugned order.
8. Having considered the submissions made by the learned
advocate and having perused the documents on record, the issue
appears to be that against the disputed N.A. order of the
Collector, Morbi, a revision application came to be filed before
C/SCA/14656/2022 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/12/2022
the Secretary, Revenue Department. It further appears that
against the very order of the Collector, Morbi, earlier also a
revision application was filed before the SSRD bearing Revision
Application No.MVV/BKP/MRB/5/2019. The said revision
application came to be decided vide order dated 30.8.2019.
Therefore, on the principle of res judicata, there is a bar on the
revision application filed by the petitioner. It further appears that
the respondent had, as per rules and regulations, paid all the
taxes, cess as well as premium amount to the Government. The
Collector, Morbi, after gathering all the facts and considering the
rules and regulations as well as the resolution, granted the N.A.
permission to the respondent, therefore, there is no error in the
order passed by the Collector. As the revision application filed by
the petitioner is barred on the principles of res judicata,
Secretary, Revenue Department, deemed it proper to file the
revision application.
9. For the grounds agitated before this Court in the pleading,
this Court is not inclined to entertain this petition and to
interfere with the impugned orders of the revenue authorities.
10. It is needless to observe that any decision in the civil
litigation that is filed and pending in connection with the subject
land will be binding on the parties as well as govern the revenue
record.
11. With these observations, the petitions stand disposed of.
(A.Y. KOGJE, J.)
/MOINUDDIN
