Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 29: In a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) highlighting alleged hushing up of Chatta-Sunjwan land scam, Division Bench of the State High Court comprising Chief Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice Bansi Lal Bhat today directed Senior AAG Seema Shekhar Khajooria appearing for GAD and Revenue Departments to file an Action Taken Report (ATR) into the inquiry report submitted by the then Divisional Commissioner, Jammu Shant-manu.
The then Divisional Commissioner had in his inquiry report dated March 13, 2015 held that Khasra No. 1442 measuring 20 kanals and 12 marlas situated at Sunjwan is actually a State land but it was put to sale by tampering the records.
When the PIL came up for hearing, Advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed appearing for the petitioners drew the attention of the Division Bench to the latest inquiry report filed by SDM Jammu (South) Shahid Mehmood, who had been appointed as inquiry officer vide Government Order No. 151-Rev(S)/2015 dated October 7, 2015 to inquire into the alienation of land measuring 724 kanals in village Sunjwan to M/s SRK Associates.
The inquiry officer has concluded that 257 kanals and 14 marlas of land is Gair Mumkin Khad, 310 kanals and 11 marlas is Gair Mumkin Jaar, 144 kanals and 04 marlas is Banjar Qadeem and 12 kanals and 16 marlas is Gair Mumkin Rasta, Gail, Chapri, Advocate Ahmed said, adding the inquiry officer has also mentioned that most of the land in question being non-agricultural is out of the preview of the Agrarian Reforms Act and Big Landed Estates Abolition Act.
He also stated that some patches of land which otherwise are not worth to be sold have been got alienated by means of sale deeds. “The Revenue Officials who have issued the Fard Intikhabs of such patches of land in favour of the vendors and vendees and got that land alienated illegally are required to be prosecuted”, Advocate Ahmed said.
On the other hand, Senior Advocate L K Sharma appearing for M/s SRK Associates submitted that the Inquiry Officer has given a clean chit to the colonizer and has held that the land in question is a private land and being non-agricultural land the ceiling limit will not be applicable to such land. He further submitted that M/s SRK Associates has been harassed and victimized for the last more than 5 years at the behest of some business rivals and the PIL in question is required to be closed.
He further submitted that JDA approved the building plan of M/s SRK Associates way back in the year 2007 and for no valid reasons the builder is being put to irreparable loss.
At this stage, Advocate Ahmed appearing for the petitioner submitted that the building permission was obtained by M/s SRK Associates fraudulently as no such permission was granted by BOCA of JDA as except the then Vice-Chairman JDA rest all other members of BOCA disassociated themselves from the decision so taken and apprised about their dissent to the then Chairman JDA. Accordingly, the Housing and Urban Development Department kept in abeyance the building permission of M/s SRK Associates on the advice of the then Advocate General.
However, despite keeping in abeyance the building permission of M/s SRK Associates by the State Government, the builder is still encroaching the hillocks at the disputed site by using high tech machinery and this made Deputy Commissioner Jammu to issue order No. 143 DCJ of 2015 dated 10-12-2015 whereby a special demarcation team was constituted and complete ban was imposed on all kinds of activities on the land falling between the ridge of Hill View Resort at Sunjwan and the Chowadhi-Sunjwan boundary.
He further submitted that despite the matter pending before the Division Bench in the PIL, the builder filed a writ petition before the writ court and got the order of the Deputy Commissioner Jammu stayed in order to encroach the land available in the area in the shape hillocks.
“Since Division Bench is Custodia Legis as such record of the writ petition is required to be summoned and tagged with instant PIL”, Advocate Ahmed submitted.
Upon this, the Division Bench directed the Registry to tag the record of writ petition before the Single Judge with the instant PIL. However, Senior AAG Seema Shekhar Khajooria requested the Division Bench that the two writ petitions filed by M/s SRK Associates challenging the order of appointment of Sudhanshu Pandey, the then Divisional Commissioner Jammu as inquiry officer in the year 2008 and also the writ petition challenging the report of Shantmanu, the then Divisional Commissioner have been rendered infructuous in view of the subsequent developments in the PIL as various orders were passed from time to time. However, Senior Advocate L K Sharma submitted that prejudice will be caused to his client as it will affect the dispute pending before the civil court.
The Division Bench in view of the submissions made by Senior AAG dismissed both the petitions with the observation that the same will not affect the petitioner before the civil court.
After hearing counsels for the PIL, Senior Advocate L K Sharma, Senior Advocate M A Goni with Advocates Rahul Pant and Ajay Singh Kotwal appearing for newly impleaded revenue officials, the Division Bench directed the Senior AAG to also file the latest status of the investigation already entrusted to Crime Branch, Jammu before the adjourned date of hearing– March 28, 2016.
Follow our WhatsApp channel