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2019 DIGILAW 876 (GUJ)

Gitaben Madhavjibhai Maniya v. State of Gujarat

2019-10-09

A.J.SHASTRI, VIKRAM NATH

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ORDER : 1. Affidavits-in-reply on behalf of respondent No. 4 filed today by Ms. Megha Jani, learned counsel are taken on record. 2. Heard Shri Jinesh Kapadia, learned counsel for the appellants, Shri D.M. Devnani, learned Assistant Government Pleader for the respondent-State and Ms. Megha Jani, learned counsel representing the private respondents in both the Letters Patent Appeals. 3. The present appellants who had purchased certain land from the private respondents, applied for mutation before the Mamlatdar. The said application for mutation was rejected by the Mamlatdar by order dated 16.11.2018. According to the present appellants, the private respondents in the appeals thereafter moved an application for mutating names of their family members on 26.11.2018 only in order to deny and deprive the rights accrued to the appellants under the Sale Deed. Aggrieved by the order of the Mamlatdar dated 16.11.2018 rejecting their mutation application, the appellants filed appeals before the Deputy Collector. During the pendency of the appeals, an interim order came to be passed by the Deputy Collector on 12.02.2019. This interim order dated 12.02.2019 passed by the Deputy Collector was challenged by the private respondents by way of Special Civil Application No. 6416 of 2019 and Special Civil Application No. 6417 of 2019 before the learned Single Judge. The challenge to the order dated 12.02.2019 in the said petitions was on the ground that the Deputy Collector had issued notice in the appeal on 06.02.2019 fixing the appeal on 22.02.2019, however, much before the date fixed in the notice, he proceeded to pass the impugned interim order on 12.02.2019. In the Special Civil Applications referred to above, notices were issued on 01.04.2019 without any interim order. However, subsequently after hearing the learned counsels for the parties, the learned Single Judge passed an interim order on 09.09.2019 staying the effect of the order dated 12.02.2019 passed by the Deputy Collector as also staying the proceedings of the Revenue Entry Appeal Case No. 8 of 2019 till final disposal of the petitions. Being aggrieved by the said order dated 09.09.2019 that the present Letters Patent Appeals have been filed. 4. Being aggrieved by the said order dated 09.09.2019 that the present Letters Patent Appeals have been filed. 4. Learned counsel for the appellants Shri Jinesh Kapadia at the outset states that the Special Civil Applications filed by the private respondents be allowed and the order of the Deputy Collector dated 12.02.2019 be set aside and further that appropriate directions be issued to the Deputy Collector to decide the pending appeals within a fixed time-frame. 5. On the other hand, Ms. Megha Jani, learned counsel for the private respondents has sought to submit that the urgency shown by the appellants in the present appeals, praying for the Special Civil Applications being allowed, to set aside the interim order passed by the Deputy Collector, that they would not press any stay application before the Deputy Collector during the pendency of the appeals and further that the appeals be decided expeditiously, indicates some kind of special anxiety from appellants in arguing their appeals before the Presiding Officer of the Court of Deputy Collector concerned. She has also made certain submissions relating to the proceedings before the Deputy Collector and based upon that, has expressed serious apprehension about justice being done to the private respondents from the said Court. In the circumstances, she has prayed that if the matters are being disposed of as submitted by the appellants' counsel, then at least, enough protection to be provided to the private respondents that the appeals may be decided by another officer competent to hear said appeals. 6. Shri Kapadia has not opposed the request and has very fairly accepted that his interest is only in early disposal of the appeals and not in a particular officer deciding the same. 7. Shri D.M. Devnani, learned Assistant Government Pleader, upon instructions, has informed that in District Botad, there are two Deputy Collectors. He further submits that under Section 10 and its proviso of the Gujarat Land Revenue Code, 1879, the Collector would have power to transfer or assign such matters to any of the Deputy Collectors of the district. 8. In view of the above, both the appeals as also both the Special Civil Applications stand disposed of with the following directions: (i) Both the Special Civil Applications are allowed and the orders of the Deputy Collector dated 12.02.2019 impugned in the Special Civil Applications are set aside. 8. In view of the above, both the appeals as also both the Special Civil Applications stand disposed of with the following directions: (i) Both the Special Civil Applications are allowed and the orders of the Deputy Collector dated 12.02.2019 impugned in the Special Civil Applications are set aside. (ii) During the pendency of the appeals before the Deputy Collector, the appellants therein would not press for interim relief so that the appeals are disposed of on merits at the earliest. (iii) The private respondents would make an application to the Collector, Botad, for transferring the two revenue entry appeal before an officer competent to hear such appeals upon which the present appellants will not have any objection and the Collector would pass appropriate orders transferring the said appeals to any other Deputy Collector. Such order may be passed within fifteen days thereafter. It is also provided that the transfer application shall be moved within a week from today. (iv) For a period of thirty days or till such time the Collector passes an order of transfer, whichever is later, the Deputy Collector, before whom the revenue entry appeals are pending at present shall not proceed any further in the said appeals. Once the said two appeals are transferred by the Collector, the authority before whom the appeals are transferred shall decide the said appeals within a period of six weeks from the date of transfer. It goes without saying that both the parties shall cooperate in the hearing of the appeals. 9. It is made clear that the order of Collector will mention the date before the transferee Court so that the parties need not to be issued any fresh notice and they may appear before the Transferee Court on the date so indicated by the Collector. 10. It is further made clear that we have passed the above order to do complete justice between the parties and the above order may not be treated to be of bias or prejudice against the present officer. 11. Consequently, the connected Civil Applications for stay are disposed of.