Gomiben Radkabhai Varli Alias Dhediya and Ors. vs the Administrator, Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Daman and Ors. — Bombay HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

Gomiben Radkabhai Varli Alias Dhediya and Ors. vs the Administrator, Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Daman and Ors. — Bombay HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Impugned order dated 30th October, 2025 quashed and set aside; the petitioners' appeal restored to the file of the Administrator, who is requested to hear the parties and pass an appropriate order in accordance with law as expeditiously as possible.

Issue for consideration

Whether the Collector of Dadra and Nagar Haveli could cancel the earlier order dated 22nd November, 2024 by way of a corrigendum dated 5th April, 2025. +1 more

Ratio / Principle

Ex facie, the appeal was not disposed of by the Administrator in the manner in which a statutory appeal is expected to be decided by the Administrator under the Dadra and Nagar Haveli Land Revenue Administration Regulation, 1971.

Key takeaways

The Administrator ought to have heard the parties and passed an appropriate reasoned order himself; under no circumstances could the statutory appellate power have been delegated to an official in the office of the Administrator.ratio¶20

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Bombay High Court (N. J. Jamadar, J.), Writ Petition No. 4220 of 2026, decided 6th April, 2026: The Court quashed and set aside an order dated 30th October, 2025 purportedly passed by the Personal Assistant to the Administrator, Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, in the petitioners' appeal against a corrigendum dated 5th April, 2025 whereby the Collector of Dadra and Nagar Haveli cancelled an enquiry order dated 22nd November, 2024 concerning agricultural land transferred through a Will without the Collector's permission. Holding that the appeal had not been disposed of as a statutory appeal under the Dadra and Nagar Haveli Land Revenue Administration Regulation, 1971, and that the statutory appellate power could not be delegated to an official in the Administrator's office, the Court restored the appeal to the file of the Administrator with a request to hear the parties and pass an appropriate reasoned order in accordance with law expeditiously. The petition stands disposed.

39-WP4220-2026.DOC

Santosh

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

WRIT PETITION NO. 4220 OF 2026

Gomiben Radkabhai Varli Alias Dhediya And Ors

...Petitioners

Versus

The Administrator, Union Territory Of Dadra And Nagar Haveli And Daman And Diu, Daman And Ors …Respondents

SANTOSH SUBHASH KULKARNI

Digitally signed by SANTOSH SUBHASH KULKARNI Date: 2026.04.14 18:29:20 +0530

Mr. Manoj Badgujar, for the Petitioner. Dr. Sanjay Jain, a/w Harsh Dedhia, for Respondent Nos.1 to 3.

CORAM: N. J. JAMADAR, J. DATED: 6^th APRIL, 2026

Oral Order:-

Heard the learned Counsel for the Petitioner.

The challenge in this petition is to an order dated 30^th October, 2025 purportedly passed by the Personal Assistant to the Administrator, Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, in appeal preferred by the petitioner against an order dated 5^th April, 2025, whereby, by way of a corrigendum, the Collector of Dadra and Nagar Haveli has cancelled the order dated 22^nd November, 2024 passed in an enquiry in respect of the agricultural land transferred through Will without the permission of the Collector, Dadra and Nagar

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39-WP4220-2026.DOC

Haveli. The grievance of the petitioner is that, in the first place, the Collector should not have cancelled the earlier order dated 22^nd November, 2024, by way of a corrigendum, and when the statutory appeal was preferred before the Administrator, the Personal Assistant to the Administrator had returned the appeal opining that, the Administrator cannot be the proper forum to challenge the impugned order.

The Court finds that, ex facie, the appeal has not been disposed of by the Administrator in the manner in which a statutory appeal is expected to be decided by the Administrator, under Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Land Revenue Administration Regulation, 1971.

In any event, the Administrator ought to have heard the parties and passed an appropriate reasoned order himself. Under no circumstances the statutory appellate power could have been delegated to an official in the office of the Administrator.

Thus, the impugned order dated 30^th October, 2025 stands quashed and set aside.

The appeal preferred by the Petitioners stands restored to the file of the Administrator.

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39-WP4220-2026.DOC

The Administrator is requested to hear the parties and

pass an appropriate order in accordance with law, as expeditiously as possible.

The petition stands disposed.

[N. J. JAMADAR, J.]

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