Dismissed¶50

Mukhtar Hussain v. U T of J and K Th Commissioner Secretary Revenue Deptt and Others

Intra-Court Appeal (LPA) – Lambardar appointment

J&K HC24 Nov 2025LPA/283/2025

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Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Keywords: Lambardar; Lambardari election; temporary Lambardar appointment; casual vacancy; J&K Lambardari Rules 1980; Rule 17; SRO 412 of 2017; Rule 14(4); six-month limit; District Collector approval; direction to hold elections; travel beyond pleadings; Village Dara, Tehsil Thanamandi, District Rajouri; Clause 12 Letters Patent; LPA 283/2025 against WP(C) 419/2023 order dated 29.09.2025; Division Bench (Sindhu Sharma & Shahzad Azeem, JJ.), decided 24.11.2025; appeal dismissed.

What did the court decide?

The appellant's temporary appointment as Lambardar could not continue beyond six months, except with the prior approval of the District Collector, and only until elections were conducted. ¶45

Mukhtar Hussain Vs U T of J and K Th Commissioner Secretary Revenue Deptt and Others — J&K HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Dismissed

¶50

Issue for consideration

Whether the Writ Court could direct the holding of elections for the post of Lambardar when respondent No. 5 had made no such prayer in the writ petition (i.e., whether the direction travelled beyond the pleadings). +1 more

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Court's answer

No perversity, illegality or infirmity was found in the impugned judgment dated 29.09.2025 warranting interference in the intra-Court appeal under Clause 12 of the Letters Patent.

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Ratio / Principle

The appellant's temporary appointment as Lambardar could not continue beyond six months, except with the prior approval of the District Collector, and only until elections were conducted.

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Key takeaways

As amended by SRO 412 of 2017, nomination under Rule 17(1) of the Lambardari Rules can be only for a maximum period of six months.ratio¶45
The appellant could not claim any right to continue as Lambardar beyond the temporary period; his continuance was always subject to the holding of regular elections, and the learned Writ Court rightly directed the authorities to conduct the election.ratio¶48

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Intra-Court Appeal (LPA) — Lambardar appointment — Jammu and Kashmir Lambardari Rules, 1980, Rules 6, 9(1), 14(4), 16, 17 (as amended by SRO 412 dated 29th September, 2017). After respondent No. 5's dismissal as Lambardar (order dated 01.02.2023 under Section 9(1)), the appellant was appointed temporary Lambardar of Village Dara, Tehsil Thanamandi, District Rajouri by order dated 10.02.2023 for six months or until elections. The Single Judge disposed of the writ petition directing elections within three months. Held by the Division Bench: a temporary appointment could not continue beyond six months except with prior approval of the District Collector and only until elections; nomination under amended Rule 17(1) is capped at six months; the appellant had no right to continue beyond the temporary period, his continuance being always subject to regular elections. Finding no perversity, illegality or infirmity in the impugned judgment dated 29.09.2025 warranting interference under Clause 12 of the Letters Patent, the appeal was dismissed.

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. No. 04

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HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH AT JAMMU

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Case: LPA No. 283/2025 in WP(C) No. 419/2023

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Mukhtar Hussain S/O Fazal Din R/O Dara Tehsil Thannamandi, District Rajouri.

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….Petitioner/Appellant(s)

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Through:- Mr. Ashok Sharma, Advocate

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V/s

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1.Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir through Commissioner Secretary to Government, Revenue Department, Civil Sectt., Jammu/Srinagar.

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2. Deputy Commissioner, Rajouri. 3. Additional District Magistrate, Rajouri. 4. Tehsildar, Thannamandi, District Rajouri.

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5. Shamsher Hussain S/O Mohd Akbar R/o Dara, Tehsil Thanamandi, District Rajouri

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…..Respondent(s)

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Through:- Ms. Priyanka Bhat, Advocate vice Mrs. Monika Kohli, Sr. AAG for R-1 to 4 Mr. Z. A. Mughal, Advocate for R-5

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CORAM: HON’BLE MRS. JUSTICE SINDHU SHARMA, JUDGE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE SHAHZAD AZEEM, JUDGE ORDER

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24.11.2025

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This intra-Court appeal is directed against the order dated 29th September, 2025 passed by the learned Single Judge of this Court ( “Writ Court” ) in WP(C) No. 419/2023, titled Shemsher Hussain vs. Union Territory of J&K and Others , whereby the writ petition was disposed of with a direction to

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LPA 283 of 2025

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Page 2 of 7

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the official respondents to hold elections for the office of Lambardar for Village Dara, Tehsil Thanamandi, District Rajouri, within a period of three months from the date of receipt of the certified copy of the order.

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Briefly stated, the facts leading to the filing of the present appeal are that respondent No. 5 was appointed as Lambardar of Village Dara, Tehsil Thanamandi, District Rajouri, vide order dated 05.02.2018 issued by the Tehsildar, Thanamandi. The official respondents proposed the name of the appellant as Lambardar in place of respondent No. 5 for Village Dara, Tehsil Thanamandi. Aggrieved of the proposal the respondent No. 5 filed a writ petition seeking quashing of the said proposal.

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On 01.02.2023, respondent No. 2, relying upon the recommendation furnished by the Tehsildar that respondent No. 5 had failed to discharge his legitimate duties as mandated under Rule 6 of the Jammu and Kashmir Lambardari Rules, 1980, dismissed respondent No. 5 from the post of Lambardar by exercising powers under Section 9(1) of the said Rules. Thereafter, respondent No. 4, vide order dated 10.02.2023, appointed the appellant as Lambardar of Village Dara on a temporary basis for a period of six months or until elections were held, whichever was earlier.

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The writ petition was disposed of with a direction to the official respondents to hold elections for the office of

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LPA 283 of 2025

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Lambardar for Village Dara, Tehsil Thanamandi within a period of three months.

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The appellant has challenged the impugned order primarily on the ground that the Writ Court failed to appreciate that no prayer had been made by respondent No. 5 in the writ petition seeking a direction for holding elections for the post of Lambardar. Learned counsel for the appellant, Mr. Ashok Sharma, submitted that respondent No. 5 had neither assailed the dismissal order dated 01.02.2023 nor questioned the temporary appointment of the appellant dated 10.02.2023, and therefore the Writ Court could not have travelled beyond the pleadings to issue a direction for holding elections.

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Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material on record. 7. For determining the controversy, it is necessary to refer to the relevant provisions of the Lambardari Rules. Rule 16 prescribes the term of office of a Lambardar as five years or till he attains the age of 60 years, whichever occurs earlier. 8. Under Rule 11, the Tehsildar is empowered to appoint a substitute Lambardar where the incumbent Lambardar is placed under suspension under Rules 8 or 10, or where the Lambardar remains absent for more than six months due to sickness or other reasons and is unable to perform his duties. Such appointment cannot exceed six months, though in

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LPA 283 of 2025

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exceptional circumstances the period may be extended with the prior approval of the District Collector .

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Rule 17 deals with the filling of casual vacancies. It provides that vacancies arising from death, resignation, removal, or vacation of office under Rule 16(4) are required to be filled by election. The Divisional Commissioner may, however, direct that a vacancy be kept unfilled, or where the vacancy occurs within six months prior to general elections, the same may be filled by nomination of an otherwise qualified person.

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Rule 17 of the Lambardari Rules, reads as under:-

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“Rule - 17. Casual Vacancies.

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(1) Whenever a vacancy occurs due to death, resignation, removal or by vacation of his seat under the provisions of subclause (4) of rule 16, a new Lambardar shall be elected in accordance with these rules; provided that the Divisional Commissioner may direct in any such case that the vacancy shall be left unfilled or when a vacancy occurs not more than six months before the next general elections are due, may fill such a vacancy by nomination of a Person who is otherwise qualified for appointment as a Lambardar.

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(2) Every person elected against a casual vacancy shall hold his appointment for the time and subject to the condition upon which it was tenable by the person in whose place he has been selected, and no longer but he may, if otherwise qualified be reelected.

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The Government of Jammu and Kashmir vide SRO 412

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dated 29^th September, 2017 made the following amendments in Rule 17:-

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“VIII. In Rule 17, the following amendments shall be made:-

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a) “In sub rule (1), for the words ‘nomination of a person who is otherwise qualified”, the words

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LPA 283 of 2025

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“nomination of a person for a period not exceeding six months who is otherwise qualified”, shall be substituted.

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b) “in sub rule(2), for the words “but he may, if otherwise qualified be re-elected”, the words “but he shall be eligible, if otherwise qualified, for re-election”, shall be substituted.”

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The learned Writ Court, on the submission of learned counsel for the petitioner , directed that the election to the post of Lambardar be held in a time bound manner. A communication dated 18.11.2025, issued by the Tehsildar, Thannamandi to the Deputy Commissioner, Rajouri, regarding initiation of the election process in compliance to the direction issued by the Writ Court has been produced by the learned counsel for the respondents. The same is taken on record.

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Under Rule 14(4), where a vacancy is not filled by election, Revenue Officer not below the rank of Tehsildar may appoint a person to discharge the functions of Lambardar for a period not exceeding six months, subject to confirmation by the Collector.

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In the present case, the appellant was appointed only as a temporary Lambardar by the Tehsildar, Thannamandi, vide order dated 10.02.2023. Such an appointment, could not continue beyond six months, except with the prior approval of the District Collector and only until elections were conducted. The amended Rules clearly state that nomination under Rule 17(1) can be only for a maximum period of six months. The appellant, therefore, cannot claim any right to continue as

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LPA 283 of 2025

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Lambardar beyond the temporary period for which he was appointed. His continuance was always subject to the holding of regular elections. The learned Writ Court rightly directed the authorities to conduct the election.

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We, therefore, find no perversity, illegality, or infirmity in the impugned judgment dated 29.09.2025 warranting interference in this appeal under Clause 12 of the Letters Patent.

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The instant appeal is, accordingly, dismissed.

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(Shahzad Azeem) (Sindhu Sharma)
Judge Judge
Jammu:
24.11.2025
Bir*

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LPA 283 of 2025 Page 7 of 7

Mukhtar Hussain v. U T of J and K Th Commissioner Secretary Revenue Deptt and Others

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Mukhtar Hussain v. U T of J and K Th Commissioner Secretary Revenue Deptt and Others

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

What the court decided

Issues for consideration

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