IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.6717 of 2010 Vindhayachal Rai S/O Late Babu Raja Rai R/O Vill.- D.K. Shikarpur, P.S.- Shikarpur, Distt.- West Champaran Versus 1. The State Of Bihar 2. The Principal Secretary, Forest Govt. Of Bihar, Patna 3. The Commissioner, Tirhut Division, Muzaffarpur 4. The District Magistrate, West Champaran 5. The Conservator Of Forest-Cum-Director Valmiki Tiger Project, Bettiah, West Champaran 6. The District Forest Officer-Cum-Deputy Director Valmiki Tiger Project, Division-1, Bettiah, West Champaran 7. The Circle Officer Gaunaha, Distt.- West Champaran ----------------- 02/ 16.09.2011 Heard Mr. Satyabrat Verma, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner and Ms. Vandana Singh, Assisting counsel to S.C. 25 for the State. The writ petition has been filed seeking a direction to the respondent no. 5, the Conservator of Forest-cum-Director, Valmiki Tiger Project, Bettiah in the District of West Champaran to dispose of the representation filed by the petitioner on 7.2.2009 (Annexure-12), seeking permission from the respondent no. 5 for removal of the dust from his raiyati land situated at village Balwal, Block-Gaunaha Zamabandi No. 22 in the District of West Champaran. The facts of the case are not in dispute and in brief is that the lands in question had been settled with one Dhananjay Prasad by the Ex-Landlord of Ram Nagar Raj and as a consequence of the vesting of the State, his name was entered in the records of right. The petitioner is a purchaser of five kathas and seven dhurs 2 of the land so settled with the said Dhananjay Prasad, through registered sale deed dated 20.8.1970. Pursuant to the said transfer, the petitioner sought mutation of his name in the records of right by filing an appropriate application giving rise to Mutation Case No. 351 of 1971-72 and consequently a Jamabandi No. 22 was created in the name of the petitioner in 1972 and entered in Register-2 i.e. the tenant register. It is not in dispute that the lands in question had earlier been de-notified by the Forest Department by gazette notification dated 6.12.1961 and confirmed vide letter no. 2567 dated 7.6.1963, copy whereof has been placed at Annexures 3 and 4 to the writ petition. It is the case of the petitioner that thereafter the lands have never been notified as forest land by any subsequent notification and that since after the confirmation of his title and possession over the land he has continued to cultivate the same and has also constructed a residential house on part thereof. While the matter was resting at this stage an order was issued by the Additional Collector, Revenue, West Champaran on 5.2.2003 in a matter arising from Case No. 9 of 2000-01/22 of 2001-02 and whereby the Jamabandi No. 22 so created in the name of he petitioner was cancelled, inter alia, on grounds that the lands in question were in the nature of forest land. The petitioner being aggrieved by the said order dated 5.2.2003 moved this Court through C.W.J.C. No. 6110 of 2003 and a Bench of this Court by order passed on 25.8.2003 was pleased to stay the operation of the said order. The grievance of the petitioner which has led to the 3 present proceeding is that despite the aforesaid position the Conservator of Forest did not permit him to remove the dust from his land and for which he had also represented before him through a detailed representation dated 7.2.2009 bringing to his notice the entire sequence of events and on his failure to dispose of the same moved this Court through the present proceeding. Learned counsel for the petitioner has also relied upon the letter of the Commissioner, Tirhut Division, Muzaffarpur dated 8.2.2008 placed at Annexure-10 of the writ petition, whereby upon consideration of the facts and circumstances governing the present case, the Commissioner has held that the claim of the Forest Department that the land in question was in the nature of forest land is baseless, concocted and based on surmises. While the present writ petition has remained pending, the earlier application of the petitioner bearing C.W.J.C. No. 6110 of 2003 has been disposed of by a Bench of this Court by order passed on 19.11.2010 together with some other cases. The Bench while disposing of the writ petition has directed the Additional Collector to consider the case of the petitioner in the light of the judgment and order passed by a Bench of this Court in C.W.J.C. No. 4839 of 2004 allowed by order dated 8.5.2006 and a copy whereof has been placed at Annexure-9 to the writ petition. In the said writ petition a similar order cancelling the Jamabandi was under challenge and a learned Single Judge of this Court by order dated 8.5.2006 was pleased to allow the writ petition and quash the order cancelling the Jamabandi. 4 Considering the circumstances aforesaid where the earlier writ petition filed by the petitioner questioning the cancellation of Jamabandi has been disposed of in the light of the judgment and order passed by this Court in C.W.J.C. No. 4839 of 2004 dated 8.5.2006, the present writ petition is also disposed of requiring the Conservator of Forest, respondent no. 5 to consider the representation of the petitioner dated 7.2.2009 as contained in Annexure-12, in the backdrop of the facts set forth hereinabove and pass appropriate orders within a period of eight weeks from the date of receipt/production of a copy of this order. S.Sb/- (Jyoti Saran, J.)