Court No. - 19
Case :- WRIT - B No. - 2096 of 2019 Petitioner :- Sanjay Respondent :- Deputy Director Of Consolidation Counsel for Petitioner :- Raj Kumar Kesari,Ashutosh Mishra Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
Hon'ble Salil Kumar Rai,J.
Heard learned counsel for the petitioner.
The Standing Counsel has agreed that the writ petition may be decided on the basis of the averments made and the documents annexed with the writ petition and no counter affidavit is required.
The present writ petition has been filed against the orders dated 29.8.1996 and 17.1.2019 passed by the Deputy Director of Consolidation, Saharanpur. Through the order dated 29.8.1996, the Deputy Director of Consolidation had amended the allotment of chaks reducing the area allotted to the petitioner. It has been stated in the writ petition that the order dated 29.8.1996 was passed without affording the petitioner any opportunity of hearing. The petitioner filed a recall application for recall of the order dated 29.8.1996 but the same was dismissed by the Deputy Director of Consolidation, Saharanpur vide order dated 17.1.2019 on the ground that the recall application filed by the petitioner was highly belated and the petitioner has not satisfactorily explained the delay in filing the recall application.
A reading of the order dated 17.1.2019 passed by the Deputy Director of Consolidation shows that in his aforesaid order, the Deputy Director of Consolidation has not recorded any finding as to whether the petitioner was afforded any opportunity of hearing before passing the order dated 29.8.1996.
Merely, because the order dated 29.8.1996 was passed on merits, could not have been a ground to reject the recall application unless merits of the reference in which the order dated 29.8.1996 was passed was examined after hearing the petitioner whose chaks has been adversely affected by the order dated 29.8.1996.
Apart from the aforesaid, a reading of the order dated 17.1.2019 shows that no reasons have been given by the Deputy Director of Consolidation, Saharanpur to reject the delay condonation application filed by the petitioner and as to why the explanation given by him for the delay in filing the recall application was not found satisfactory by the Deputy Director of Consolidation. The order dated 17.1.2019 reveals non-application of mind by the Deputy Director of Consolidation, Saharanpur.
In view of the aforesaid, the order dated 17.1.2019 passed by the Deputy Director of Consoldiation, Saharanpur rejecting the recall application filed by the petitioner is hereby set aside.
The matter is remanded back to the Deputy Director of Consolidation, Saharanpur to pass fresh orders on the recall application filed by the petitioner in Reference No.567 within a period of three months from the date a certified copy of this order is produced before him by either of the parties.
With the aforesaid observations and directions, the writ petition is allowed.
Order Date :- 22.8.2019 Jyotsana