CWP No.10128 of 2009 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH. CWP No.10128 of 2009 Date of Decision: 2.2..2010 Sohan Lal .....Petitioner Vs. Director Consolidation, Haryana and another ....Respondents .... CORAM : HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE RAJIVE BHALLA **** Present : Mr. Deepak Aggarwal, Advocate for the petitioner. Mr. Rameshwar Malik, Addl.A.G. Haryana for respondent no.1. Mr. S.N. Saini, Advocate for respondent no.2. .... RAJIVE BHALLA, J (Oral) Prayer in this petition is for the issuance of a writ in the nature of Certiorari, for setting aside the order dated 13.1.2009, passed by the Director, Consolidation, Haryana. The private respondent filed an application under Section 42 of the Haryana Consolidation Act, 1948 (hereinafter referred to as `the Act'), praying for allotment of a passage , on the plea that on account of a bonafide mistake by the Consolidation Officer, he was not provided a passage during consolidation. Notice of the application was issued for 19.12.2008. The petitioner put in appearance and on that very day, without affording any opportunity to the petitioner to inspect the record or file a reply, the Director Consolidation, Haryana, reserved the order and pronounced the judgment in CWP No.10128 of 2009 2 favour of the private respondent on 13.1.2009. Counsel for the petitioner submits that apart from the fact that the petition was barred by time and correction in the scheme of consolidation could not have been made after 40 years, the petitioner has not been granted an opportunity, much-less an adequate opportunity, to put forth his case. It is submitted that the petitioner appeared before the Director, Consolidation, Haryana, for the first time on 19.12.2008. On that very day, the petitioner was directed to address arguments and the order was reserved. It is submitted that as the petitioner has been denied an opportunity to put forth his claim, the petition be allowed and the order dated 13.1.2009 be set aside. Counsel for the private respondent, however, submits that the error in consolidation proceedings is palpable, as no passage has been provided to the petitioner. It is submitted that though the petitioner appeared for the first time on 19.12.2008, the petitioner addressed arguments and, therefore, his grievance that he has been denied an adequate opportunity, is a mere ploy to get the order set aside. It is further submitted that as the petitioner has failed to allege or prove any prejudice and the order has already been implemented, the present petition has, in essence, been rendered infructuous. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the impugned order. It is not denied that the petitioner appeared before the Director, Consolidation, Haryana, for the first time on 19.12.2008. Without affording any opportunity to inspect the record or to file a reply, the petitioner was directed to address arguments and the order was reserved. It is apparent CWP No.10128 of 2009 3 that the petitioner has not been granted an opportunity, much less an adequate opportunity, to put forth his case. The argument that the petitioner has neither pleaded nor proved any prejudice, cannot be accepted, as the passage allocated to the private respondent has to be excavated from the petitioner's land. The Director, Consolidation, Haryana, should have granted an adequate opportunity to the petitioner to put forth his objection against the private respondent's prayer for grant of a passage. It would be necessary to mention here that Section 42 of the Act, enables the State Government to call for the record of any scheme or re-partition at any time for the purpose of satisfying itself as to its legality or propriety but only after affording an opportunity to the parties interested. In view of what has been stated herein above, the writ petition is allowed, the order dated 13.1.2009 is set aside and the matter is remitted to the Director, Consolidation, Haryana, to decide the application, filed by private respondent afresh and in accordance with law, within a period of two months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order. Parties are directed to appear before the Director, Consolidation, Haryana, on 2.3.2010. During the pendency of the petition before the Director, Consolidation, Haryana, parties shall maintain status- quo with respect to the passage. 2.2.2010 (RAJIVE BHALLA) GS JUDGE