Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, May 24: High Court has dismissed the plea of a person seeking holding of ownership rights on state land which was mutated in his favour on the basis of donation.
Petitioner-Muneer Ahmad Akhoon had approached the court challenging the orders of Settlement Commissioner, J&K, and the Financial Commissioner, J&K, Srinagar by virtue of which Settlement Commissioner, J&K, had, while allowing the revision petition of the Zamindaran Murad Bagh Drass, recommended that the mutation of state land in favour of the petitioner be set-aside and the file be submitted to the Financial Commissioner (Revenue) under Section 15 (3) of the Land Revenue Act for appropriate orders.
Inconsequence whereof the Financial Commissioner (Revenue) also accepted the reference and upheld the order of the Settlement Commissioner holding that the impugned mutation no. 219 made of estate Muradbagh Drass is bad in law, therefore, set-aside the same.
The challenge to these orders was made on the grounds that a land in question got mutated in the name of petitioner’s father Akhoon Aman Ullah R/o Muradbagh Tehsil & District Kargil on 04.09.2000 which was challenged before the Settlement Commissioner, J&K, who, in terms of order dated 09.04.2012, recommended setting aside of the mutation on the ground that the land in question being State land cannot be donated by any individual in anybody’s favour.
The recommendation came to be accepted by the Financial Commissioner and vide order dated 31.12.2014 the mutation was ordered to be set-aside. Petitioner contended before the court that the revenue courts did not consider the fact that the land in question is in the occupation of the concerned family since 1901.
The court of Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey considered the matter after hearing the parties held the revenue courts, while dealing with the case have applied the law in its true spirit, and the legal position on the subject is appreciated quite aptly. “It appears from the material available on the file, that the land in question is a State land and has been mutated wrongly in favour of the father of the petitioner on the basis of donation”, court said
The Court said the Settlement Commissioner, J&K, was right in holding that the State land (Behrune line of forests) cannot be donated in such a way to any person who is not even the resident of the said village.
The petitioner, court held, has absolutely no locus to claim the land in question and challenge the orders of the revenue courts before this Court as he has failed to show his right or title over the land in question as such he appears to be a trespasser and nothing else.
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