Research › Search › Judgment

Patna High Court · body

2018 DIGILAW 1780 (PAT)

Kamlesh Kumar @ Murari Prasad v. State of Bihar

2018-12-04

ASHUTOSH KUMAR

body2018
Ashutosh Kumar, J. – Heard the learned counsel for the petitioners and the State. 2. Similar questions of law and facts arise in all the above-noted writ petitions. Hence, all of them are being disposed off by this common order. 3. The petitioners in all the writ petitions have sought quashing of letter no. 1699, dated 01.04.2016 so far as it relates to them, issued by the Principal Secretary, Registration, Excise and Prohibition Department, Government of Bihar, Patna (Respondent No. 1), by which the District Magistrate-cum-Registrar of all the districts of the State of Bihar have been directed to take steps for canceling the license of the Deed Writers, as they had gone on lightening strike on 30.03.2016 and 31.03.2016, causing huge revenue losses to the State of Bihar as well as for quashing the office letter no. 1597, dated 28.03.2016, issued by the Inspector General of Registration, Patna (Respondent No. 2), by which the Collector-cum-District Registrar (Respondent No. 7) has been directed to cancel the license of those Deed Writers, who had proceeded on strike on 30.03.2016. 4. The petitioners have also challenged the office order no. 35/2016, dated 01.04.2016, issued by the District Sub Registrar, Patna (Respondent No. 8), by which the license of the petitioners, some of whom are Deed Writers, whereas some are apprentices, has been cancelled with immediate effect in the light of the order dated 28.03.2016, referred-to above of Respondent No. 7. 5. It has been submitted on behalf of the petitioners that the orders impugned is absolutely illegal and unsustainable in the eyes of law as no opportunity was ever provided to the petitioners for explaining their cause for any action to be taken against them. 6. A blanket order was passed, canceling the license of all the Deed Writers, which had been validly granted to them under the Bihar Deed Writers Licensing Rules, 1996. 7. By virtue of powers conferred under Section 69 of the Registration Act, 1908, the Bihar Deed Writers Licensing Rules, 1996 has been framed, under which competitive examination is taken for the selection of persons for being granted license to work as Deed Writers. 8. The petitioners have been granted the license under the 1996 Rules after having passed the written examination. Some of the petitioners are working in the District of Patna for a long time. 9. 8. The petitioners have been granted the license under the 1996 Rules after having passed the written examination. Some of the petitioners are working in the District of Patna for a long time. 9. It appears that on 28.03.2016, the Inspector General of Registration, Excise and Prohibition Department, Government of Bihar, Patna (Respondent No. 2) intimated the Collector-cum-District Registrar that the licences of all those Deed Writers who are about to go on strike on 30.03.2016 be cancelled. Accordingly, the licenses of the petitioners were cancelled. A decision also was taken at the end of Respondent No. 1 that no further work be taken from the petitioners / Deed Writers in public interest as online registration was required to be popularized. 10. Challenging the aforesaid orders, it was urged on behalf of the petitioners that petitioners never went on strike and without any rhyme or reason, by one stroke of pen, a sweeping decision has been taken by the respondent authorities, the sole purpose being to anyhow make the online registration scheme successful thereby depriving the petitioners of their livelihood. 11. Pursuant to the aforesaid decision, as has been stated above, the District Sub-Registrar, Patna (Respondent No. 8) passed an order canceling the licenses of the petitioners / Deed Writers with immediate effect in the light of the order dated 28.03.2016 passed by Respondent No. 7, referred-to above. 12. It has been argued that such order is out and out illegal and void because it is in contravention of Rule 13(2) as well as other Rules of Bihar Deed Writers Licensing Rules, 1996. 13. It was submitted on behalf of the petitioners that none of the terms of the license has ever been attempted to be breached by the petitioners and the orders impugned therefore is absolutely unsustainable in the eyes of law. 14. For the sake of brevity as also for completeness, Rule 9 of the Bihar Deed Writers Licensing Rules, 1996 is being extracted below: – “9. Conditions of licence. 14. For the sake of brevity as also for completeness, Rule 9 of the Bihar Deed Writers Licensing Rules, 1996 is being extracted below: – “9. Conditions of licence. – (1) The following shall be the conditions of document writers licence : – (a) that the licensee shall abide by the Rules relating to the licensing of document writers; (b) that he shall maintain the registers, receipt books and other records prescribed by these rules to be maintained or required to be maintained by the Licensing Authority from time to time or by the Inspector-General of Registration; (c) that he shall not demand or receive any sum from parties in the name of any person connected with the registration office; (d) that he shall render truer and correct account of the money that he receives from his employer; (e) that he shall writ or cause to be written documents legibly and in accordance with the instructions that may be issued from time to time by the licensing authority or the Inspector-General of Registration; (f) that he shall instruct the parties or the duly authorised agents or persons having powers of attorney to pay the fees in person direct to the Registering Officers and not through any other agency; (g) that he shall write or cause to be written document carefully, properly and in clean and unambiguous terms; (h) that he shall obey any direction hat may from time to time be issued by the Licensing Authority or the Inspector- General of Registration regarding the preparation and the transcription of documents or copies for Registration; (i) that he shall sign his name on every document written by him or caused to be written by the apprentice attached to him and shall enter therein his name, licence number and serial number of document given in the register to be maintained by him under these Rules and the fees charged by him. (2) The following shall be conditions of an apprentice licence : – (a) an apprentice shall write documents legibly, correctly and neatly; (b) he shall not act as a tout; (c) he shall not receive any money or fees direct from the parties; (d) he shall be attached to only one of the licensed document writers; (e) he shall attend the office of the document writer to which he is attached and shall carry out such duties in respect of transcribing deed as may be given to him; (f) he shall be remunerated by the document writer in respect of the documents which he transcribes at the direction or direction of the licensed documents writers; (g) he shall attest the document in the following manner after the attestation of the document in the following manner after the attestation of the document by the document writer to whom he is attached : – “Signed by ................(full name and signature), apprentice licence No. ................of the district of ..................... Sub- Registration office. Note. – In case the deed transcribed by the document writer himself, no attestation by the apprentice shall be necessary. 13. Cancellation and suspension of licence. – (1)The Licensing Authority may at any time suspend or cancel the licence of a document writer or apprentice on any of the following grounds : (a) Violation of any of the rules or the conditions of the licenses (b) Failure to attend the registration office for a period exceeding six months without a reasonable cause or without the leave or permission of the licensing authority or the registering officer within whose jurisdiction he has been practicing. (2) No order under sub rule (1) shall be passed, unless the document writer or the apprentice, as the case has been asked to show cause against the proposed suspension or cancellation of the licence and the cause shown by him has been duly considered by the Licensing Authority. 15. Learned counsel for the respondents has submitted that the cancellation of the license of the petitioners is in terms of the provisions contained in Rule 9(h), which inter alia states that in case of any disobedience of the direction issued by the licensing authority or the Inspector General of Registration regarding preparation and transcription of documents or copies for registration, license of a Deed Writer could be cancelled. 16. 16. The aforesaid contention of the learned counsel for the State has only been noted to be rejected. 17. Sub-clause (h) of Rule 9 merely states and that a license of a Deed Writer could be cancelled in case of any disobedience or direction for preparation and transcription of documents or copies of Registration. There is no direction whatsoever, which has been violated. 18. It appears that the learned counsel for the State has considered the intimation by the Principal Secretary to the Collectors that the licences of all those Deed Writers, who would go on strike would be suspended, to be a direction or notice to the petitioners at large not to go on strike. Such presumption/interpretation is absolutely unfounded. It was necessary for the respondents to have inquired whether the petitioners had gone on strike. 19. Under similar circumstances, the order canceling the license of some of the Deed Writers have been set aside by different Benches of this Court, namely, order dated 12.09.2017, passe in C.W.J.C. No. 6502 of 2016 and order dated 12.09.2017, passed in C.W.J.C. No. 13035 of 2016 and other analogous cases. 20. At this stage, learned counsel for the State drew the attention of this Court that a co-ordinate Bench, while deciding the writ petition (C.W.J.C. No. 6708 of 2016) of one of the Deed Writers, affirmed and upheld the order of the licensing authority whereby the license was cancelled. 21. The Bench had interpreted that there was specific direction of Inspector General of Registration on 28.03.2016 that all those Deed Writers who would go on strike would be identified and their licenses would be cancelled. This, therefore, in the opinion of the Bench came within the parameter of Section 9(1)(h) of the 1996 Rules. 22. However, the aforesaid order passed in C.W.J.C. No. 6708 of 2016 upholding the validity of the orders impugned has been challenged by the petitioners therein before the Division Bench which has stayed the order passed in C.W.J.C. No. 6708 of 2016. 23. It is also worthwhile to mention that the State has not preferred any appeal against the orders passed by this Court in several writ petitions, setting aside the order of the respondent/authorities whereby licenses of the petitioners were cancelled. 24. 23. It is also worthwhile to mention that the State has not preferred any appeal against the orders passed by this Court in several writ petitions, setting aside the order of the respondent/authorities whereby licenses of the petitioners were cancelled. 24. Thus, since I do not find any reason to sustain the orders impugned, the same are set aside and the license of the respective petitioners are restored. 25. However, since in one of the matters where the order canceling the license has been upheld, a LPA has been preferred, this order shall be subject to the outcome of the aforesaid appeal. 26. With the aforesaid observation aforesaid, the writs petition stand allowed.