IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CWJC No.16 of 2001 CHUNNI MANDAL, son of Late Jangho Mandal, resident of village Bhola Tola, Kishandarpur, PS Budachak, District Bhagalpur……. Petitioner Versus 1. THE STATE OF BIHAR 2. The LRDC Kahalgaon 3. Sajan Tekriwal 4. Vishu Tewriwal – sons of late Gauri Shankar Tekriwal, resident of Kahalgaon Bazar, P S Kahalgaon, District Bhagalpur …… Respondents. ----------- 07- 16.12.2008 Heard Mr. Subhash Chandra Jha for the petitioner, Mr. Vinod Kumar, learned JC to Standing Counsel no. V, and Mr. Sanjay Kumar Mishra for respondent nos. 3 and 4. This writ petition is directed against the order dated 14.3.2000 (Annexure 1), passed by the learned Land Reforms Deputy Collector, Kahalgaon, in Batai Case No.19/99-2000 (Chunni Mandal v. Sajan Tekriwal & Ors.), whereby the petitioner’s application under Section 48E of the Bihar Tenancy Act 1885 (hereinafter referred to as `the Act’), has been rejected. The two sets of respondents have placed on record their separate counter affidavits. 2. We have perused the materials on record and considered the submissions of learned counsel for the parties. The petitioner’s application has been rejected for various reasons. One of them is that the boundaries of the land in question have not been clearly indicated as a result of which identification of the same is not possible. Learned counsel for the petitioner has placed before me certified copy of his application under Section 48E of the Act, wherein the description and the boundaries of the land in question have been indicated as follows:- - 2 - Description of the land Mauza – Kishandarpur P.S.- Kahalgaon Thana no. – 71 Anchal Kahalgaon of Khata no.207 Khesra no.1404 Area – 5 bigha (2.8 decimals) Boundary North – Naranagar Mouza, Ranidiara boundary South – Jagdish Mandal East – Rajendra Mandal and Road West – Jangho Mandal 3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner stands by the same which is quite clearly stated and the same renders identification of the land possible. It appears to me that there is force in the submission of the learned counsel for the petitioner. It prima facie appears to me that the description as well as the boundaries of the land in question is clearly indicated in the application. 4. The second objection indicated in the impugned order is that the petitioner has not impleaded the widow of the land-owner. The learned LRDC ought to have given opportunity to the petitioner to remove this defect which is curable. 5. I must deal with the objection advanced by learned counsel for the petitioner. He submits that the learned first authority should not have heard respondent nos. 2 and 3 before passing an order. He relies on the judgment of a Full Bench of this Court reported in AIR 1979 Patna 259 (Dhanji Singh vs. State of Bihar), paragraph- 10 of which is reproduced hereinbelow for the facility of quick reference:- “10. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner, while - 3 - challenging the impugned order, submitted that even if it is held that the order for initiating a proceeding under S. 48-E of the Act, by the Collector, is of a quasi judicial nature, still for that he is not required to hear the landlord. In my view, this contention has to be accepted. Before passing an order the other side is to be heard only under two situations, (i) if it is required by statute itself, or (ii) even in absence of an express provision, it is required under the principles of natural justice. So far as the present case is concerned, sub- sec. (1) does not say that before initiation of the proceeding the landlord must be heard. This cannot be read even on the principles of natural justice because by merely initiating a proceeding no final order is passed affecting any of the rights of the landlord.” 6. In the result, this writ petition is allowed. The impugned order dated 14.3.2000 (Annexure 1) is hereby set aside. The learned LRDC, Kahalgaon, shall proceed in accordance with law. This order should not be taken to be an expression of the views of this Court on the merits of the matter. ( S K Katriar ) mrl