Madhya Pradesh High Court: In a petition filed by petitioner, son of former Chief Minister of the Madhya Pradesh, Govind Narayan Singh, claiming the ancestral possession of the land located in Rampur Baghelan of Rewa, based on patwari’s report, a single-judge bench comprising of Vivek Agarwal, J., held that Patwari may be a “demigod in the rural society but, he cannot supersede the legal provision” and tasked the Collector, Satna, with taking action against the involved Patwari for giving given a bogus report.
In the instant matter, the dispute revolved around the ownership of a piece of land previously recorded in the name of petitioners’ father. The respondents claimed rights and title over the land based on mutation in the name of petitioners’ grandfather. The petitioners claimed their grandfather obtained the land in a way that required clarification from the respondents. The petitioners failed to provide substantial evidence such as registered sale deeds or gift deeds to establish their title. They only presented a Patwari report dated 09.05.2018, which the lower court found insufficient. The lower court emphasised on the necessity for concrete evidence of possession, which the petitioners failed to produce. The lower court stated that the petitioners failed explain why no action had been taken to challenge the mutation of the land in favor of their grandfather over the years. Aggrieved by the impugned order dated 24-11-2023 issued by the Additional Commissioner, Rewa Division, Rewa, the petitioners preferred the appeal challenging the same.
The Court stated that there should be some foundation for recording possession of the petitioners by the Patwari concerned. The Court noted that neither any such material is brought on record, nor revenue record is produced to show petitioner’s possession. The Court found that the petitioners failed to demonstrate their right to the land in question. The Court directed the Government Advocate to send a copy of the order to the Collector, Satna, to take action against the Patwari responsible for the inaccurate report. The Court further instructed the Collector to initiate disciplinary action against the Patwari and lodge an FIR against them. The Court allowed another petitioner to withdraw their writ petition with liberty to pursue remedies before the revenue authorities. The case was listed for compliance with the court’s directions in the following week.
[Ashok Singh v. State of M.P., 2024 SCC OnLine MP 2530, order dated 16-04-2024]
Advocates who appeared in this case :
Shri Ishan Soni, Counsel for the Petitioners
Shri Manas Mani Verma, Government Advocate, Counsel for the Respondent No. 1 to 6
Shri Sunil Kumar Mishra, Counsel for the Respondent No. 7 to 9
