Ramji Mandir Trust and Others vs Sadhu Vishnprasad Shyamlal and 3

Honourable Mr. Justice K.S. Jhaveri

Both these petitions involve common questions on law and facts and hence, they are disposed of by this common judgment.

By way of these petitions, the Petitioners have prayed to quash and set aside the order dated 22.06.1998 passed by the Joint Secretary (Appeals), Revenue Department, Govt. of Gujarat whereby, the application preferred by the Petitioner-Trust was rejected and the orders passed by the District Collector, Mehsana and the competent authority in the Office of the Charity Commissioner were confirmed.

The facts in brief are that the lands bearing survey No. 457, 459, 621, 671 & 460 situated in the sum of Village Nandan in Kadi Taluka of Mehsana District were of the ownership of the Petitioner-Trust. In order to meet some financial exigency, the Petitioner-Trust applied before the Charity Commissioner seeking permission to sell certain area of land. By order dated 01.06.1980, the Charity Commissioner granted permission to sell land bearing survey No. 460 to one Kasambhai Amirbhai and survey No. 671 to Sartanbhai Jivabhai, Petitioner No. 2 herein. Accordingly, the lands were mutated in the names of the purchasers.

It is the case of the Petitioners that at the instance of Respondent No. 1, the District Collector, Mehsana reviewed the revenue entry made in favour of the Petitioner-Trust in the year 1980 and subsequently, passed order dated 20.01.1998, whereby, the revenue entry dated 01.06.1980 was cancelled.

The said order was challenged by way of filing revision u/s 211 of the Bombay Land Revenue Code before Respondent No. 3-State authority. However, the said revision also came to be rejected by impugned order dated 22.06.1998. Hence, these petitions.

Heard Learned Counsel for the parties and perused the documents on record. It appears from the record that Respondent No. 1 herein had earlier preferred a writ petition being Special Civil Application No. 6858 of 1997 before this Court praying for issuance of appropriate directions to the revenue authorities for cancellation of the relevant mutation entries, including the entry dated 01,06.1980. The said petition was allowed by this Court vide order dated 21.10.1997 and it was directed that the action initiated on the basis of the report of the Mamlatdar shall be taken to its logical end and appropriate orders in accordance with law in the revenue proceedings shall be passed by the concerned authorities at the earliest possible opportunity but in no case later than three months from the date of the said order on the question of cancellation of entries.

Pursuant to the said order of this Court, the authority concerned cancelled the revenue entry in question. The authority concerned found that no Notice u/s 135-D was served nor any title in favour of the Petitioner-Trust was produced on record. In view of the above factual scenario, I find no merits in the present petitions.

For the foregoing reasons, both the petitions stand dismissed. Rule is discharged. Interim relief, if any, stands vacated.