Jharkhand High Court
Jaggu Mahto vs State Of Jharkhand And Others on 3 July, 2023
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI
W.P. (C) No. 3022 of 2023
Jaggu Mahto ... ... Petitioner
Versus
State of Jharkhand and others ... ... Respondents
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CORAM :HON'BLE MRS. JUSTICE ANUBHA RAWAT CHOUDHARY
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For the Petitioner : Mr. Sunil Kumar Agarwal, Advocate
For the Respondents : Mr. Manish Mishra, Advocate
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04/03.07.2023 Learned counsel for the parties are present.
2. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that rent receipts
were issued in the name of the petitioner/his ancestor with effect from
the year 1981 on the basis of a Registered sale deed dated 15.02.1975
executed by Akhileshwar Prasad Sinha, who in turn claimed to be in
possession of the land by virtue of Sada Hukumnama. The petitioner
submits that long running jamabandi has been cancelled.
3. However the petitioner did not produce any the rent receipt
prior to the year 1981 in the name of the vendor of the property
namely, Akhileshwar Prasad Sinha.
4. From the records of this case it appears that no rent receipts was
ever produced by the petitioner issued in the name of the vendor of the
of the property i.e Akhileshwar Prasad Sinha and there is nothing on
record to indicate that the demand was running in the name of
Akhileshwar Prasad Sinha prior to execution of the sale deed on
15.02.1975.
5. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the rent
receipts were issued as back as in the year 1981, 1984 and 1985 and
as such Jamabandi created in the year 1981 could not have been
cancelled on 03.06.2002 by the order contained in Annexure-A to the
counter affidavit filed by the respondents on 19.06.2023. Learned
counsel has also submitted that there is no provision of law under
Bihar Tenants Holding (Maintenance of Records) Act, 1973 enabling
any authority to cancel Jamabandi. Learned counsel for the petitioner
has relied upon a judgment passed by the Hon'ble Division Bench of
this court passed in L.P.A. No. 786 of 2018 and has submitted that it
has been held by the Hon'ble Division Bench as under:-
"It is further settled position of law that Jamabandi once created cannot
be annulled. Herein it is admitted fact that Jamabandi can be created
under the provisions of Bihar Tenants Holdings (Maintenance of Records)
Act, 1973. We have gone across the provisions thereof, as contained in the
Act, 1973 and have found that no provision confer upon any authority of
the State to cancel the Jamabandi. The question would be that in absence
of any power conferred by Statute upon any of the revenue authority can
Jamabandi be cancelled. The answer of this question would be in negative
as statute confers power upon the authority and the authority can
purportedly exercise the power conferred upon it under the statutory
power and if any decision is taken in absence of any provision the same
would be said to be nullity in the eye of law when found to be without
jurisdiction."
6. Learned counsel for the respondents has submitted that
Revisional power has been passed by the Deputy Commissioner- the
collector of the district under Section 16 of the aforesaid Act , who has
got the power to modify, alter or set aside any order made by an
Authority under the Act. But such an order can be passed after
granting a reasonable opportunity of hearing. He submits that the
order passed in the year 2002 was after granting full opportunity of
hearing to the petitioner to produce the documents but he could not
satisfy the Authority.
7. Post this case for further hearing on 05.07. 2023 at 01: 00 P.M.
8. It will be open to the parties to forward soft copies of the
judgments by tomorrow i.e. 04.07.2023 , which they seek to rely upon.
(Anubha Rawat Choudhary, J.)
Binit
