The petitioner challenged a notice issued by the East Central Railway alleging encroachment on railway land. The Court quashed the vague notice, directing the Railway to serve a specific notice detailing the encroached land.
The notice dated 8.2.2014 was quashed and set aside. The respondent is directed to serve a new notice with details of the land.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.5867 of 2014
====================================================== 1. Pappu Kumar S/O Late Baijnath Prasad Resident Of Mohalla - Chah Kalyan, Chowk Shikarpur, P.S. - Chowk, Patna City, District - Patna .... .... Petitioner/s Versus 1. The Union Of India Through General Manager, East Central Railway, Hajipur , Vaishali (Bihar) 2. The Engineer-In-Chief, East Central Railway, Hajipur (Vaishali) 3. The Chief Engineer (Line), East Central Railway, Hajipur (Vaishali) 4. The Divisional Railway Manager, Danapur Division, E.C. Railway, Danapur 5. The Senior Divisional Engineer (I), Danapur, E.C. Railway, Danapur, Patna 6. The Senior Divisional Security Commissioner, Danapur Division, E.C. Railway, Patna 7. The Assistant Divisional Engineer (Line), E.C. Railway, Patna Junction, Patna 8. The Station Manager, Patna Sahib Station, Patna City, Patna 9. The State Of Bihar Through The District Magistrate, Patna 10. The Superintendent Of Police, Rail District, Government Rail Police, Patna 11. The Inspector, Railway Protection Force, Fathua, Patna 12. The Officer-In-Charge, GRP, Patna City, Patna 13. The Senior Superintendent Of Police, Patna 14. The Superintendent Of Police City, Patna 15. The Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Patna City 16. The Circle Officer, Patna Sadar, Patna 17. The S.H.O., Chowk Police Station, Patna City, Patna .... .... Respondent/s ====================================================== Appearance : For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Santosh Kumar Singh For the Respondent/s : Mr. Dinbandhu Singh ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE KISHORE KUMAR MANDAL ORAL ORDER
The petitioner claims his right, title and interest in the land bearing Municipal Plot Nos. 1378, 1379, 1376 and 1377 situated in Ward No. 27 within the Patna Municipal Corporation. It is contended that the aforesaid land is the ancestral land of the
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petitioner. Earlier, it was recorded in the name of his father and subsequently, the same stood recorded in the name of mother of the petitioner. The respondent ECR, claiming part of land appertaining to Municipal Plot no. 1377, pasted a notice (Annexure-2) on the construction/structure standing on Municipal Survey Plot No. 1377. By the said notice, the petitioner was directed to remove the construction/structure thereon which was shown to be an encroachment on the Railways land/property. Learned counsel submits that the said notice is vague inasmuch as it does not set out the details of the land which is claimed to be the land of the ECR and an encroachment by the petitioner. The said notice directs removal of the structure/construction therefrom.
Mr. Keshri, learned counsel for the ECR, on the other hand, submits that the ECR in view of the position in law set out by this Court in 1997 (1) P.L.J.R. 127 will serve a notice on the petitioner setting out therein the details of the encroachment made by the petitioner on the land of the ECR. A representation should be directed to be filed by the petitioner thereagainst which shall be considered by the concerned authority of the ECR and thereafter again a notice shall be served on the petitioner for removal of encroachment, if any, within three days thereof. He submits that this course of action is deemed appropriate in view of the fact that in the case it is found that the petitioner has encroached on the
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public land or the land of the Railways used for public purposes then the requirement of law only permits the person who is said to be encroachers to file a reply to the notice and due consideration
thereof.
In the light of the submissions of the parties, the notice dated 8.2.2014 contained in Annexure-2 is quashed and set aside. The respondent ECR would be at liberty to serve a notice setting out the details of the land/structure said to have been encroached by the petitioner over the land/property of the ECR. The petitioner would thereafter file a detail reply/representation thereagainst within 10 days of the service of the notice. The appropriate/competent authority of the ECR would thereafter consider and pass a reasoned order on the said representation. If the respondent ECR is satisfied that the land of the Railways has been encroached by the petitioner then notice for removal thereof within stipulated time/date shall be given to the petitioner. In case the petitioner defaults in removing those encroachments, the respondent ECR would be at liberty to take needful steps for removal of the encroachment over the land of the Railways.
The application is disposed of with aforesaid
observation(s).
(Kishore Kumar Mandal, J)
Pankaj/-
1 issue framed by the court
Whether the notice issued by the Railway for removal of alleged encroachment that lacks specific details of the land needs to be quashed.
1 provisions across 1 enactments
Pappu Kumar
The Union Of India Through General Manager, East Central Railway
Kishore Kumar Mandal
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
