Raghuwar Thakur v. The State of Bihar
Case brief
What is this about?
Abatement of pre-emption proceedings: after the 2019 amendment to the Bihar Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling Area and Acquisition of Surplus Land) Act, 1961, all applications and appeals under Section 16(3) abate; Patna High Court upholds District Collector, Muzaffarpur's dismissal of pre emption Appeal No. 01/2011-12 (order dated 16.07.2019) despite the petitioner Raghuwar Thakur's earlier deposit of the initial amount; writ application disposed of as misconceived, following Punyadeo Sharma and Others v. Kamla Devi and others, 2022 SCC Online SC 2455 (Supreme Court). Subjects: land ceiling, surplus land acquisition, Section 16(3) pre-emption, 2019 amendment abatement, Muzaffarpur, Bihar Land Reforms.
What did the court decide?
It is settled law that all applications under Section 16(3) stood abated on account of the 2019 amendment; the petitioner's appeal had likewise abated, and therefore there is no illegality in the impugned order.