J&K High Court seeks report on ongoing digitisation of revenue records

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, February 13

The J&K High Court today directed the government to file response to a public interest litigation (PIL)which has sought the production of the entire details of the mutation of the land records carried out in all the patwar halqa of the Union Territory of the J&K without any valid registered documents.

These directions were issued today by a Division Bench of the High Court, which has granted the government respondents, including Commissioner/Secretary to Government, Revenue Department, Financial Commissioner, Revenue, J&K, Srinagar, and Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, four weeks’ time to file the response.

During the course of proceedings, the government counsel, BA Dar, informed the court that the PIL was not maintainable as the government of J&K had already taken the decision for digitising revenue records. However, the court asked the counsel to file the status report as also the process of digitisation undertaken by the government on the next date.

“Appearing counsel for the respondents seek and is granted four weeks’ time to file the status report(s),” the court said in its orders today while posting the matter for further consideration on March 30.

The petitioner organisation, K&K Peoples Welfare Forum, is aggrieved of “various malpractices in vogue” in the Revenue Department “more particularly about the attestation of mutations, maintenance of records and non-adherence of the provisions of law, including the transfer of title of immovable property in violation of the Section 138 of the J&K Transfer of property Act.

The petitioners have also cited non-compliance of the provisions contained in the Land Revenue Act, non-digitisation of the revenue record in J&K and registration of deeds/documents by public notariesnot empowered to register the same relating to transfer of immovable property.

“The patwaris (revenue officials) have carved out a novel and illegal mechanism by recording and attesting even pre-dated mutations without following the prescribed procedure and the law laid down in Section 138 of J&K Transfer of property Act”, the PIL submitted.