Mehrotra, J. - (1.) This is an application under Article 226 of the Constitution praying that an order passed by the opposite party no. 1 Sri Banwari Lal Sub-Divisional Officer on the 25th of February 1954 be quashed.
(2.) The facts set out in the affidavit are, that the petitioner along with others was a tenant in cultivatory possession of plots Nos. 169 and 170 as Bhumidhar and over plot No. 171 as sirdar situate in village Kushana, Pergana Naththupur, Tehsil Ghosi, district Azamgarh. They were also in cultivatory possession over plots Nos. 85 and 644 as Bhumidhars in village Ufrauli, Pergana Naththupur, Tehsil Ghosi, district Azamgarh. Act No. XXXI of 1952 known as the U. P. Land Reforms (Supplementary) Act, 1952 was passed by the State of Uttar Pradesh and was published in the Gazette Extraordinary on the 7th of November 1952. Certain rights were conferred under this Act on persons who were in cultivatory possession in the year 1359F. Under Section 4 of the aforesaid Act the opposite party No. 1 was appointed as Special Officer for correction of records of 1359F. On the 6th of January 1954 opposite party No. 1 purporting to have received certain application under the said section from the opposite party No. 2 Sri Hari Nandan acted on that application and ordered the record of 1359F. to be corrected by entering his name over the plots mentioned above. The petitioner alleges that he was not aware of the order passed by the opposite party No. 1 on the 25th of February 1954 and consequently he took no steps to get that order set aside and the petitioner continued to be in possession. The opposite party No. 1 then went to the police station Madhuban on the 18th of March 1954 and asked the opposite party No. 2 to forcibly cut and remove the crops raised by the petitioner. The crops were removed by the opposite party No. 2 from the land on the 18th of March 1952. Then the petitioner came to know that certain corrections had been made in the revenue records. The petitioner applied for the certified copy of the orders dated the 18th of March 1952 and the 25th of February 1954 and also asked for a copy of the application made by the opposite party No. 2 on the 6th of January 1954. Thereupon this petition was filed in this Court on the 4th of May 1956. Notices were issued to the opposite parties and a counter affidavit has also been filed on behalf of the Sub-Divisional Officer in which it is stated that in early January 1954 a complaint signed by a large number of Harijans of village Ufrauli was received by him complaining about the high-handed action of certain ex-zamindars in reclaiming certain jungle land vested in the Gaon Samaj. Thereafter a large number of Harijans made individual applications before the opposite party No. 1 complaining that the ex-zamindars were threatening to dispossess them from their fields on which they had been carrying on their cultivation as halwahas of the ex-zamindars. Hari Nandan opposite party No. 2 was one of the applicants in respect of plots Nos. 169 and 171 of village Kushna and plots Nos. 85 and 644 of village Ufrauli. He had mentioned that he was the halwaha of Raghunandan, an ex-zamindar. On the receipt of the aforesaid petition the opposite party No. 1 alleges that he directed the lekhpal of the village to announce by beat of drum in the village that the opposite party No. 1 would be holding a spot enquiry regarding the application and all the persons interested were to be present there. The opposite party No. 1 went to the village and made an enquiry. About 150 to 200 persons were present and the opposite party No. 1 directed that each application should be called up. Both the sides were heard and the applications were decided. If none of the co-sharers of the land was present then the case was not taken up. But as one of the co-sharers of the petitioner's land was present he was heard and after making spot enquiry the order was passed on the 25th of February 1954. After that order had been passed some of the ex-zamindars applied for review of that order. One of the applicants was Raghunandan Mal who is a co-sharer of Hari Narain Mal the petitioner in the writ. The decision of the opposite party No. 1 dated the 25th of February 1954 was questioned although the decision with regard to the plots belonging to Hari Nandan was not questioned and ultimately the review application was dismissed on the 21st of July 1954. It is further denied by the opposite party No. 1 that the petitioner was in cultivatory possession of the plots in 1359F. although their entries in the revenue records are admitted.
(3.) As regards the contention that the opposite party No. 1 had no power to act under Section 4 (2) of the Act it is asserted that the opposite party No. 1 could act suo motu under the said section in order to make necessary corrections in the revenue records. It is asserted by the opposite party No. 1 that due information had been given to everybody concerned and at the time of enquiry a large number of persons were present and a number of ex-zamindars admitted that their halwahas were in possession. The assertion by the petitioner that thereafter the opposite party No. 1 directed the opposite party No. 2 with the police help to cut the crops is denied by the opposite party No. 1.;