CONTAI THANA PRIMARY TEACHERS CO Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL
LAWS(CAL)-2002-10-45
HIGH COURT OF CALCUTTA
Decided on October 03,2002

CONTAI THANA PRIMARY TEACHERS CO Appellant
VERSUS
STATE OF WEST BENGAL Respondents

JUDGEMENT

Altamas Kabir, J. - (1.) Shri Rathindra Nath Pati, the Secretary of the pe titioner society, moved the West, Bengal Land Reforms and Tenancy Tribunal by way of Original Application No. 2807 (L. R.T. T.) purporting to challenge the notices issued by the Revenue Officer, Contai Block-I, in Misc. Case Nos. 59 and 60 of 2000. The notices were issued by the said Revenue Officer under section 50 read with section 57 of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955, on two separate applications made by one Shri Sasanka Sekhar Pattanayak and Shri Debabrata Jana and Others. By his application Shri Pattanayak prayed for recording his name as possessor of plot No. 315 of Mouza-Athilagari, P. S. Contai, District Midnapur, under the ownership of the petitioner society. By the other application, Shri Debabrata Jana and Others prayed for recording their easement right of passage over a portion of the aforesaid plot also under the ownership of the petitioner society.
(2.) As will appear from the order sheets in respect of the said two cases annexed to the writ petition, both the cases were allowed by the Revenue Officer concerned and directions were given that the possession of Shri Pattanayak be recorded along with easement right of pathway as claimed by Shri Debabrata Jana and Others. The learned Tribunal by its order dated 22n" February, 2001, rejected the application filed by the petitioner society upon holding that the Revenue Officer was within his jurisdiction in issuing the impugned notices. However, from the tenor of the order it appears that the fact that the two Misc. Cases had been disposed of had not been brought to the notice of the learned Tribunal which gave liberty to the petitioner society to take the points raised by it before the learned Tribunal in the proceedings before the Revenue Officer and if ultimately the petitioner was aggrieved by the order of the Revenue Officer it was given the liberty to challenge the same in appeal under section 54 of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955.
(3.) Appearing in support of the writ application, Mr. Swadesh Ranjan Bhunia submitted that the learned Tribunal had misconstrued the provisions of sub-section (3) section 10 of the West Bengal Land Reforms and Tenancy Tribunal Act, 1997 and had failed to exercise the jurisdiction vested in it under section 6(1) of the said Act. Mr. Bhunia submitted that section 6(1) of the aforesaid Act empowered the Tribunal to entertain applications against original orders passed by any authority under the Acts mentioned in the Schedule, including the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955. Furthermore, it also empowered the learned Tribunal to interfere in matters of inaction or culpable negligence on the part of the authorities under the concerned statutes.;


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