Uttarakhand High Court
SPA/245/2023 on 20 July, 2023
Office Notes,
reports, orders
or proceedings
SL.
Date or directions COURT'S OR JUDGES'S ORDERS
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and Registrar's
order with
Signatures
20.07.2023 SPA No. 245 of 2023
Hon'ble Vipin Sanghi, C.J.
Hon'ble Rakesh Thapliyal, J.
1. Mr. A.S. Rawat, learned Senior Counsel assisted
by Mr. Dharmendra Barthwal, learned counsel for the
appellants.
2. Issue notice.
3. Mr. K.N. Joshi, learned Deputy Advocate General
for the State of Uttarakhand, appears and accepts
notice on behalf of all the respondents.
4. The present Special Appeal is directed against
the order dated 05.07.2023 passed by the learned
Single Judge in Writ Petition (M/S) No. 2004 of 2015.
The Writ Petition preferred by the appellants has been
dismissed, while observing that it raises disputed
questions of facts, with regard to ownership of the land
in question, since the Forest Department is also
claiming ownership of the said land, and there is a
dispute, as to who is in possession of the said land.
5. The appellants had preferred the Writ Petition,
aforesaid, on or about 10.08.2015, claiming the
following relief :-
"A. To issue a writ order or direction in the nature of
mandamus commanding the respondents not to interfere in
petitioner's enjoyment and cultivation of petitioner's
demarcated land (i.e. land situated in Khasra no. 1084,
1085 M, 1085 Ka, 1085, 1086. Total Area 1.1750 Hec.
situated in Village Shishambara Pargana Pachwadoon,
Tehsil Vikasnagar, District Dehradun) which has been duly
demarcated by the SDM, Vikas Nagar in presence of Forest
Officials in compliance of this Hon'ble Court's
judgment/order dated 16-7-15 (Annexure no. 13 to the
present petition, passed in petitioner's earlier Writ Petition
(M/S) no. 1267 of 2015)."
6. Prior to filing of the Writ Petition in question, the
appellants had, earlier as well, preferred a Writ
Petition, being Writ Petition (M/S) No. 1267 of 2015,
which was disposed of on 16.07.2015. The Court had
then directed the DFO, with the help of the Deputy
Collector, Vikasnagar, Dehradun, to demarcate the land
on the spot, and to record a specific finding on the
question, as to whether the property in dispute was
ever declared as a forest land. During pendency of the
Writ Petition, the District Magistrate, Dehradun made a
report dated 09.02.2016, which was placed on record
by the appellants/ writ petitioners, along with the
application to seek modification of the order dated
06.05.2015 passed in Writ Petition (M/S) No. 1019 of
2015, whereby the appellants/ writ petitioners had
been restrained from raising any construction in the
meanwhile.
7. We have perused the report of the District
Magistrate, made in pursuance of the order dated
16.07.2015 in Writ Petition (M/S) No. 1267 of 2015.
The said report returns a finding in favour of the
appellants/ writ petitioners, that the land in question is
not forest land.
8. Aforesaid being the position, in our view, the Writ
Petition should not have been dismissed on the ground
of it raising disputed questions of facts. It would have
been only fair to direct the parties to abide by the said
report, till so long the said report is not upset, or
varied by a competent forum.
9. We, accordingly, set aside the impugned order,
and direct that the parties shall continue to abide by
the report of the District Magistrate, aforesaid.
However, it shall be open to the parties to take
whatever administrative or judicial remedies that are
available to the parties in respect of the land in
question.
10. The present Special Appeal stands disposed of in
the aforesaid terms.
11. Consequently, pending application(s), if any, also
stand disposed of, accordingly.
(Rakesh Thapliyal, J.) (Vipin Sanghi, C.J.)
20.07.2023 20.07.2023
Rahul
