No Determination Of Ceiling Limit & Excess Holding By Any Authority: Karnataka HC Directs Restoration Of Entries In Revenue Records In Favour Of Uttaradi Math
The Karnataka High Court directed Authorities to restore entries in revenue records in favour of Uttaradi Math after noting that there is no determination of ceiling limit and excess holding by any authority.
The Court said that it failed to understand how the Deputy Commissioner on his own granted the subject land in the favour of the City Corporation there being no determination of ceiling limit and excess holding by any authority.
The Court was hearing an intra-court appeal challenging the judgment of a Single Judge, who had dismissed the Appellant’s Writ Petition. The Petition contested the Deputy Commissioner’s order which, based on observations in the Land Tribunal’s order, transferred the disputed land to the respondent, City Corporation. The Deputy Commissioner acted on the assumption that the Appellant held land exceeding the ceiling limit prescribed by the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961.
The bench of Justice Krishna S. Dixit and Justice Vijaykumar A. Patil observed, “…the revenue officials including the Deputy Commissioner are liable to restore entries in the revenue records in favour of the appellant since the present entries were made on the basis of his order which is unsustainable.”
Advocate Prashant S. Goudar appeared for the Appellant and HCGP VS Kalasurmath appeared for the Respondent.
The Court observed, “…unless determination of land holding in excess of prescribed limit takes place at the hands of appropriate authority, one cannot assume that the land held is in excess of ceiling limit. Schedule-I of 1961 Act classifies lands in four groups such as Class-A, Class-B, Class-C & Class-D.”
The Court perused Section 63(7)(a) of the Act and observed, “by any stretch of imagination, one cannot assume that the appellant – Mutt holds the land in excess of the ceiling limit, in the absence of other land held by it being prima facie shown.”
Accordingly, the Court set aside the impugned judgment and allowed the Writ Appeal.
Cause Title: Uttaradi Math v. Deputy Commissioner (Neutral Citation: 2024:KHC-D:12538-DB)