High Court · 2025

1. Mr. At ul Kum ar Bansal, learned counsel for t he pet it ioners.

2. Mr. Suyash Pant , Counsel for t he St at e of Ut t arakhand. learned St anding t hese involved t hese pet it ions are

3. Since com m on quest ions of fact and pet it ions, t herefore, clubbed t his com m on t oget her and decided by j udgm ent . However, for t he sake of brevit y and convenience, fact s of WPMS No. 3577 of 2025 alone are being considered and discussed. declared

4. According t o pet it ioner, he is a landless person, who was allot t ed a piece of agricult ural proceedings under U.P. I m posit ion of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act , 1960, vide order dat ed 13.01.2006. Grievance raised by pet it ioner is t hat his nam e is not being recorded in Cat egory 1 kha i.e. Bhum idhar wit h non- t ransferable right . surplus Learned counsel for t he pet it ioner relies 5. upon Sect ion of Ut t arakhand 131( d) Zam idari Abolit ion and Land Reform s Act , 1950 in support of his cont ent ion t hat every person, wit h whom surplus land is set t led, is ent it led t o be recorded as Bhum idhar wit h non- t ransferable right . Sect ion 131( d) of t he aforesaid St at ut e is quot ed below: - “ 1 3 1 . r i g h t s.- Bh u m i d h a r w i t h n o n - t r a n sf e r a b l e ( d) wit h effect from July 1, 1981 every person wit h whom surplus land is or has been set t led under 26A or sub- sect ion t he U.P. I m posit ion of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act , 1960.” ( 3) of Sect ion 27 of order, Learned St at e Counsel, however, refers 6. t o Annexure no. 4 t o t he writ pet it ion, where allot m ent pet it ioner, is enclosed. I n t he said docum ent , reference is m ade t o Sect ion 25 of U.P. I m posit ion of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act , 1960 for m aking allot m ent . favour issued Learned St at e Counsel subm it s t hat 7. power under Sect ion 25 of t he U.P. I m posit ion of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act , 1960 is available t o St at e Governm ent for using t he surplus land for any purpose for which such land could have been acquired and St at e can invoke t his power t o ret ain t he for public purpose/ const ruct ion of building et c. He furt her subm it s t hat surplus land can be set t led in favour of weaker sect ions of societ y only under Sect ion 27( 3) of t he Act . Sect ions 25 and 27( 3) of t he Act are reproduced below for ready reference: - - “ 2 5 . Use o f su r p l u s l a n d f o r o t h e r p u b l i c The St at e Governm ent m ay, p u r p o se s. inst ead of set t ling any surplus land in accordance wit h t he provisions of t his Act , use or perm it t he use eit her t em porarily or perm anent ly of t he whole or any port ion of such land for any purpose for which such land could have been acquired under t he Land Acquisit ion Act , 1894. 2 7 ( 3 ) ( 3) Any rem aining surplus land shall be set t led by t he any Collect or in accor dance wit h t he order of preference, and subj ect t o t he lim it s, specified respect ively in 3 sub- sect ions ( 1) and ( 3) of Sect ion 198 of t he Ut t ar Pradesh Zam indari Abolit ion and Land Reform s Act , 1950.” faced by Revenue Aut horit ies t hat Learned St at e Counsel subm it s 8. since a wrong provision was invoked while favour of issuing allot m ent order pet it ioner, due t o t hat reason difficult y is m aking ent ry of nam e of pet it ioner in t he records. Learned St at e Counsel Revenue furt her subm it s t hat as per provisions cont ained in Land Record Manual, t he land declared as surplus under Ceiling Act , is t o be recorded as 4( ka) in Revenue Record and if such land is allot t ed t o som e person, t hen nam e of such person is ent ered as 4( ka) ( ka) in t he Revenue Record. He furt her subm it s t hat if pet it ioners m ake represent at ion( s) t o t he Com pet ent Aut horit y for correct ing t he provision, which was invoked for allot t ing t he favour of pet it ioner, Com pet ent Aut horit y shall exam ine t he issue and pass necessary order, as per law, as early as possible. t hen The writ pet it ions are, accordingly, 9. disposed of wit h libert y t o pet it ioners t o t o Dist rict m ake separat e applicat ion( s) Magist rat e, Udham Singh Nagar, correct ing t he provision invoked for allot t ing land t o t hem . I f such represent at ion( s) is m ade wit hin t wo weeks from t oday, Dist rict Magist rat e shall exam ine t he m at t er and pass appropriat e order, wit hin eight weeks t hereaft er. St ake holders, if any, shall also be heard while t aking any decision in t he m at t er. ( M a n o j K u m a r Ti w a r i , J)

24.12.2025 Mahinder/