Komal Agrawal vs Ramprakash Parasar
2023 Latest Caselaw 9021 MP

                              1
 IN    THE     HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH
                     AT GWALIOR
                         BEFORE
       HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE MILIND RAMESH PHADKE
                    ON THE 19 th OF JUNE, 2023
                 MISC. PETITION No. 4237 of 2022

BETWEEN:-
1.    KOMAL AGRAWAL D/O LATE SHRI RAMESH
      MAHAJAN, AGED ABOUT 45 YEARS, R/O H. B. 1/986
      TARAN TAARAN PANJAB KRASHAK VILLAGE
      BADONKALA TEHSIL BADONI, DISTRICT DATIA
      (MADHYA PRADESH)

2.    SEEMA AGRAWAL S/O LATE SH. RAMESH
      MAHAJAN, AGED ABOUT 32 YEARS, H.B. 1/1986
      TARAN TAARAN PANJAB KRASHAK VILLAGE
      BADONKALA TEHSIL BADONI, DISTRICT DATIA
      (MADHYA PRADESH)

3.    RAGHUVANSH GUPTA S/O LATE SH. RAMESH
      MAHAJAN, AGED ABOUT 40 YEARS, R/O H.B.
      1/1986 TARAN TAARAN PANJAB KRASHAK
      VILLAGE BADONKALA TEHSIL BADONI DATIA
      (MADHYA PRADESH)

4.    SMT RADHARANI W/O LATE SH. RAMESH
      MAHAJAN, AGED ABOUT 62 YEARS, R/O H.B.
      1/1986 TARAN TAARAN PANJAB KRASHAK
      VILLAGE    BADONKALA     TEHSIL BADONI,
      DISTRICT DATIA (MADHYA PRADESH)

                                                      .....PETITIONER
(BY SHRI J.P. KUSHWAH- ADVOCATE)

AND
1.    RAMPRAKASH PARASAR S/O SH. KISHAN LAL,
      AGED ABOUT 76 YEARS, VILLAGE PACHOKHARA
      TEHSIL AND DISTRICT DATIA (MADHYA
      PRADESH)

2.    GYADEEN SHIVHARE S/O SH. HARCHARAN
      S HIVHAR E VILLAGE BAKHEDA TEHSIL AND
      DISTRICT DATIA (MADHYA PRADESH)
                                     2
                                                               .....RESPONDENTS
(BY SHRI MANISH MISHRA - ADVOCATE)

       This petition coming on for admission this day, th e court passed the
following:
                                     ORDER

The present petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India has been preferred by the petitioner challenging the order dated 6.9.2022, whereby the revision of the petitioners filed against the order dated 8.4.2022 has been rejected.

I t has been argued by counsel for the petitioner that order dated 6.9.2022 and order dated 8.4.2022 have been passed contrary to the record

and inquiry report as well as contrary to law. It has been argued by counsel for the pettioner that the S.D.O neither issued any notice to the petitioner nor relied upon any document prior and after settlement relating to the approach way. It has further been argued that no statement of villagers have been recorded and also the S.D.O. and the Collector have not given any finding relating to the inquiry report and spot map as prepared by the Patwaris. Counsel for the petitioner further argued that bare reading of the order dated 8.4.2022, it would be evident that its an unreasoned/non-speaking order and without taking note of the averments made by the petitioners, the impugned order has been passed, therefore, it is against the principle of natural justice. On the basis of aforesaid, he prayed for setting aside the order impugned dated 6.9.2022 passed by the Collector and order dated 8.4.2022 passed by the S.D.O. and remanding the matter back to the S.D.O. Datia to decide afresh as expeditiously as possible within a time bound frame. In support of his arguments, he has placed reliance upon the judgment passed by the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Kranti Associates Private Limited and Anr. Vs.

Masood Ahmed Khan and Ors. reported in (2010) 9 SCC 496, wherein the Hon'ble Apex Court has laid down certain principles with regard to necessity of passing the reasoned/speaking order, which reads as under:-

a . In India the judicial trend has always been to record reasons, even in administrative decisions, if such decisions affect anyone prejudicially. b. A quasi-judicial authority must record reasons in support of its conclusions.

c. Insistence on recording of reasons is meant to serve the wider principle of justice that justice must not only be done it must also appear to be done as well. d. Recording of reasons also operates as a valid restraint on any possible arbitrary exercise of judicial and quasi- judicial or even administrative power. ​ e. Reasons reassure that discretion has been exercised by the decision maker on relevant grounds and by disregarding extraneous considerations. f. Reasons have virtually become as indispensable a component of a decision making process as observing principles of natural justice by judicial, quasi-judicial and even by administrative bodies.

g. Reasons facilitate the process of judicial review by superior Courts.

h. The ongoing judicial trend in all countries committed to rule of law and constitutional governance is in favour of reasoned decisions based on relevant facts. This is virtually the life blood of judicial decision making justifying the principle that reason is the soul of justice. i. Judicial or even quasi-judicial opinions these days can be as different as the judges and authorities who deliver them. All these decisions serve one common purpose which is to demonstrate by reason that the relevant factors have been objectively considered. This is important for ​ sustaining the litigants' faith in the justice delivery system. j. Insistence on reason is a requirement for both judicial accountability and transparency.

k . If a Judge or a quasi-judicial authority is not candid enough about his/her decision making process then it is impossible to know whether the person deciding is faithful to the doctrine of precedent or to principles of incrementalism.

l. Reasons in support of decisions must be cogent, clear and succinct. A pretence of reasons or `rubber-stamp reasons' is not to be equated with a valid decision making process.

m. It cannot be doubted that transparency is the sine qua non of restraint on abuse of judicial powers. Transparency in decision making not only makes the judges and decision makers less prone to errors but also makes them subject to broader scrutiny. (See David Shapiro in Defence of Judicial Candor (1987) 100 Harward Law Review 731-

737).

n. Since the requirement to record reasons emanates from the broad doctrine of fairness in decision making, the said requirement is now virtually a component of human rights and was considered part of Strasbourg Jurisprudence. See (1994) 19 EHRR 553, at 562 para 29 and Anya vs. University of Oxford, 2001 EWCA Civ 405, wherein the Court referred to Article 6 of European Convention of Human Rights which requires, "adequate and intelligent reasons must be given for judicial decisions". o . In all common law jurisdictions judgments play a vital role in setting up precedents for the future. Therefore, for development of law, requirement of giving reasons for the decision is of the essence and is virtually a part of "Due Process".

Per contra, learned counsel for the respondents submits that the order impugned suffers from no perversity and should not be interfered with.

After hearing counsel for the petitioner and perusing the record, it is evident that the order dated 6.9.2022 and the order dated 8.4.2022 are non speaking order as it does not assign any reason in support of its conclusion. It is a settled principle of law that reasons in support of decision must be cogent, clear and succinct since the requirement to record reasons emanates from the broad doctrine of fairness in decision making and is virtually a part of 'Due Process', therefore, in light of judgment passed by the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Kranti Associates (Supra), the order dated 6.9.2022 and order dated 8.4.2022 are hereby quashed and the matter is remanded back to the

S.D.O. Datia to decide afresh by passing a reasoned and speaking order. Let the said exercise be done within a period of four weeks from the date of receiving the certified copy of this order.

With the aforesaid observations, present petition is disposed off.

(MILIND RAMESH PHADKE) JUDGE Pawar

ASHISH Digitally signed by ASHISH PAWAR DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH BENCH GWALIOR, ou=HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH BENCH GWALIOR, postalCode=474001, st=Madhya Pradesh, 2.5.4.20=022bf22fa73f89c6f6d933de1146a290a49b3c94df18221974589

PAWAR b5a02e0fc6b, pseudonym=FF3392C76BA2BA90DA179B68ABDF35708A13E2D2, serialNumber=45B88E29CF4FECAAA753C8CA8740AD0DA9C3E498ADE2 4A066F820E24846008AE, cn=ASHISH PAWAR Date: 2023.06.21 10:54:45 +05'30'