Uttarakhand High Court
WPMS/2072/2021 on 22 November, 2021
IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND
AT NAINITAL
ON THE 22ND DAY OF NOVEMBER, 2021
BEFORE:
HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE MANOJ KUMAR TIWARI
Writ Petition (M/S) No. 2072 of 2021
BETWEEN:
Kiranpal ...Petitioner
(Mr. Bhupesh Kandpal, Advocate)
AND:
District Magistrate Dehradun
and others ...Respondents
(T.S. Phartiyal, Additional Chief Standing Counsel for the State)
JUDGMENT
By means of this writ petition, petitioner
has sought the following reliefs:-
"1. A writ, order or direction in the nature of
mandamus commanding the respondent
no.1 and 2/respondent revenue
authority(s) to conclude the demarcation
proceedings pursuant to the application
dated 22.07.2021 of the petitioner, in
respect of the property bearing Khata No.
961, Khasra No. 4188 area 0.2310 Hect
Situated at Pargana Majri Grant
Parwadoon Tehsil Doiwala District
Dehradun as early as possible in
accordance with law pursuant to the
application preferred by the petitioner
(annexure-3 to this writ petition)."
2. In sum and substance, petitioner wants
expeditious disposal of her application seeking
demarcation of her plot of land. The application
made by the petitioner is on record as Annexure
No. 3, which has been sent to the Sub Divisional
Magistrate, Dehradun by registered post.
3. Learned Additional Chief Standing
Counsel submits that an application filed under
Section 41 of U.P. Land Revenue Act, 1901 has to
be supported by an affidavit and it has to be filed
in the Office of Assistant Collector, Ist Class. He
further submits that petitioner's application is not
in the prescribed proforma and requisite fees has
also not been enclosed with the application made
by petitioner. He further submits that the contents
of the application have to be duly verified, which is
not the case here.
4. This Court finds substance in the
contention made by learned Additional Chief
Standing Counsel for the State.
5. Section 41 of the U.P. Land Revenue
Act, 1901 deals with settlement of boundary
dispute, which reads as hereunder:-
"41. Settlement of boundary disputes.-(1)
All disputes regarding boundaries shall be decided as
far as possible on the basis of existing survey maps,
but if this is not possible, the boundaries shall be
fixed on the basis of actual possession.
(2) If, in the course of an inquiry into a
dispute under this section, the Collector is unable to
satisfy himself as to which party is in possession, or
if it shown that possession has been obtained by
wrongful dispossession of the lawful occupants of the
property within a period of three months previous to
the commencement of the inquiry, the Collector-
(a) in the first case shall ascertain by
summary inquiry who is the person
best entitled to the property, and
shall put such person in
possession;
(b) in the second case, shall put the
person so dispossessed in
possession; and shall then fix the
boundary accordingly."
6. It is settled position in law that disputed
questions of title cannot be gone into in summary
proceedings under Section 41 of the U.P. Land
Revenue Act, 1901, nor can a party claim
possession over his holding, under this provision.
7. If petitioner wants demarcation of her
agricultural holding, then she is required to make
an appropriate application in the prescribed
proforma to the Competent Authority. Since that
has not been done by petitioner so far, therefore,
the writ petition is disposed of with liberty to
petitioner to make appropriate application in the
prescribed proforma with requisite fee, to the
Competent Authority. If she makes such
application within a period of three weeks from
today, the Competent Authority shall consider
petitioner's application and pass appropriate order,
after notice to all interested persons, as early as
possible, preferably within eight months from the
date of production of certified copy of this order.
(MANOJ KUMAR TIWARI, J.)
Shubham
