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2014 DIGILAW 575 (CAL)

Sunil Mondal v. State of West Bengal

2014-07-02

ISHAN CHANDRA DAS, JYOTIRMAY BHATTACHARYA

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Judgment Jyotirmay Bhattacharya, J. The respondent nos. 3 to 9 moved a tribunal application being O.A. No. 759 of 2013 (LRTT) seeking issuance of direction upon the concerned B.L. & L.R.O. for early disposal of their representation dated 3rd December, 2012. The Learned Tribunal disposed of the said tribunal application by its order dated 6th March, 2014 whereby the concerned B.L. & L.R.O. was directed to consider and dispose of the representation of the applicants being annexure ‘C’ to the tribunal application in accordance with law within a period of ten months from the date of communication of the said order and after giving an opportunity of being heard to all the interested parties including the private respondents of the said tribunal application. The petitioners herein who were impleaded as respondents in the said tribunal application felt aggrieved as the said tribunal application was decided in their absence. They complained that even no notice was serviced upon them intimating the date of hearing of the said tribunal application. They were completely unaware of the proceeding initiated by the respondent nos. 3 to 9 before the said tribunal. Since the tribunal application was decided without giving any opportunity of hearing to the writ petitioners herein, they have come before this Court with this writ petition. In course of hearing, it was submitted by the learned advocate appearing for the petitioners that even some of the dead persons were impleaded as respondents in the said tribunal application. Be that as it may, on perusal of the impugned order, we find that the Learned Tribunal while disposing of the said tribunal application directed the concerned authority to consider and dispose of the representation of the applicants after giving an opportunity of being heard to all the interested parties including the private respondents of the said tribunal application. Since the writ petitioners were impleaded as private respondents in the said tribunal application, they will not be deprived of an opportunity of hearing before the concerned B.L. & L.R.O. In fact, right of the parties was not determined by the Learned Tribunal while disposing of the said tribunal application. The order passed by the Learned Tribunal is an innocuous order and as such we feel that the petitioners cannot feel aggrieved against the said order as they have also been given an opportunity of hearing before the concerned authority. The order passed by the Learned Tribunal is an innocuous order and as such we feel that the petitioners cannot feel aggrieved against the said order as they have also been given an opportunity of hearing before the concerned authority. Under such circumstances, we do not feel that any interference with the impugned order is necessary. We, however, make it clear that the concerned authority before considering and/or disposing of the applicants’ said application will give reasonable opportunity of hearing to all the interested parties including the writ petitioners herein and decide the said representation on its own merit in accordance with law. It is submitted by the learned advocate appearing for the petitioners that the application which is pending for consideration before the concerned authority is not maintainable and the concerned authority has no jurisdiction to consider the said application under the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955. It is thus made clear that if such an objection is raised by the writ petitioners before the concerned authority, the concerned authority will decide the said issue before entering into the merit of the applicants’ application which was directed to be considered by the concerned authority in terms of the order passed hereinabove. The concerned authority is directed to complete this exercise within eight weeks from the date of communication of this order. The writ petition is, thus, disposed of.