New instructions issued for revenue record corrections in Haryana

Bhartesh Singh Thakur

Chandigarh, September 15

For the restoration of village common lands that were wrongly partitioned, the Revenue and Disaster Management Department has now issued amended instructions for the correction of revenue record entries.

The amendments came following the Supreme Court (SC) judgment in the Jai Singh case.

As per the new instructions, the ‘collector’ will decide the ‘question of right, title, or interest in any land or immoveable property vested or deemed to have been vested in the panchayat’ as per Section 13A of the Punjab Village Common Lands Act, 1961.

Action to be taken within ambit of law

Action for the restoration of lands will be taken within the ambit of law, while the amended instructions are brought because of the Punjab and Haryana HC directions. — Varinder Singh Kundu, ACS, Revenue & disaster management and consolidation departments

Section 13A says the suit for adjudication may be filed in the court of the ‘collector’, having jurisdiction in the area wherein such land or other immovable property is situated.

Even the SC judgment in the Jai Singh case, dated April 7, 2022, mentioned that “in case of a dispute about the right, title or interest in any land for or on behalf of any person, the remedy under the 1961 Act alone can be exercised”.

The Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) of the Revenue and Disaster Management and Consolidation Departments, Varinder Singh Kundu, said further action for the restoration of lands would be taken within the ambit of the law, while the amended instructions were brought because of the Punjab and Haryana High Court directions.

In the Jai Singh case, the Supreme Court had said: “…we find that the land reserved for common purposes cannot be re-partitioned amongst the proprietors only because at a particular given time, the land so reserved has not been put to common use. … Since ‘common purpose’ is a dynamic expression, as it keeps changing due to the change in requirement of the society and the passing times, therefore once the land has been reserved for common purposes, it cannot be reverted to the proprietors for redistribution.”

Earlier, as per instructions issued on August 18 to implement the judgment, the department had told the deputy commissioners (DCs) that the revenue record entries would be corrected only after issuing a notice to those persons recorded as owners in the revenue records and after providing adequate opportunity to them.

It was also mentioned that pending the hearing, in the column of remarks of the record of rights, an entry would be made that till the decision of the notice, the said land was a subject of scrutiny and not be transferred to a third party. This has now been amended and procedure under the 1961 Act would be followed.

In the cases where the lands originally recorded as ‘shamlat’ or ‘mustarka malkan’ had already been partitioned and third-party rights have been created, the Panchayats’ and the Urban Local Bodies Departments may initiate proceedings in accordance with the law to get back such lands, the revenue department told DCs.