Patna High Court

Raghuwar ThakurversusThe State of Bihar

Decided: 11 March 2026
Disposal: DISPOSED
Bench: SOURENDRA PANDEY

Holding

All applications and appeals under Section 16(3) of the Bihar Land Reforms Act stand abated by the 2019 amendment, rendering the impugned order lawful.

Summary

The petitioner, Raghuwar Thakur, filed a pre‑emption application and deposited the required amount, but the District Collector dismissed both the application and his subsequent appeal on 16 July 2019, invoking the 2019 amendment to the Bihar Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling Area and Acquisition of Surplus Land) Act, 1961. The petitioner challenged the dismissal, arguing that the amendment should not invalidate his pending proceedings. The respondents relied on a Supreme Court decision (Punyadeo Sharma v. Kamla Devi, 2022 SCC Online SC 2455) which held that all proceedings under Section 16(3) of the Act pending before any court are deemed to abate after the amendment. The High Court accepted this precedent, concluding that the amendment automatically extinguished the petitioner's application and appeal, and therefore the impugned order was not illegal. Consequently, the petition was dismissed as misconceived.

Issues considered

Whether applications and appeals filed under Section 16(3) of the Bihar Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling Area and Acquisition of Surplus Land) Act, 1961, are abated by the 2019 amendment to the Act.
Whether the District Collector's order dismissing the petitioner's pre‑emption application and appeal is legally valid in view of the amendment and Supreme Court precedent.

Legislation cited

Bihar Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling Area and Acquisition of Surplus Land) Act, 1961 — s. 16(3)

Subjects

pre-emption
Section 16(3)
abatement
land reforms
amendment Act
appeal dismissal
Bihar

Judgment

                      IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                                Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.11110 of 2021
                 ======================================================
                 Raghuwar Thakur Son of Late Thakur Mahendra Thakur, resident of Village
                 Thikaha Aswari P.O. Kathaiya, P.S. Baruraj now Kathaiya, Anchal Motipur,
                 District Muzaffarpur.

                                                                          ... ... Petitioner/s
                                                   Versus
           1.    The State of Bihar through Principal Secretary Land and Revenue Reforms
                 Department, Government of Bihar, Patna.
           2.    DiSH Collector, Muzaffarpur.
           3.    Additional Collector, Muzaffarpur.
           4.    Suresh Pandey Son of late Ram Srinagar Pandey, resident of Village Thikaha
                 Aswari, P.O. and P.S. Kathaiya Anchal Motipur, District Muzaffarpur.
           5.    Rajendra Choudhary Son of Kishori Choudhary, resident of Village Thikaha
                 Aswari, P.O. and P.S. Kathaiya Anchal Motipur, District Muzaffarpur.

                                                           ... ... Respondent/s
                 ======================================================
                 Appearance :
                 For the Petitioner/s   :       Mr.Arun Kumar, Adv.
                                                Mr. Nirmal Kumar Sinha-3, Adv.
                 For the Respondent/s   :       Mr.Lalit Kishore ( AG )
                                                Mr. Md. Khurshid Alam (AAG-12)
                 ======================================================
                 CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SOURENDRA PANDEY
                                       ORAL ORDER

3   11-03-2026                    Heard learned counsel for the parties.

                                 2. The petitioner is aggrieved by the order dated

                   16.07.2019 passed by the District Collector, Muzaffarpur passed

                   in pre emption Appeal No. 01/2011-12, by which his appeal was

                   dismissed holding that in view of the Amendment Act of the

                   Bihar Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling Area and Acquisition

                   of Surplus Land) Act, 1961, which was carried out in the year

                   2019, all the cases relating to under Section 16(3) shall abate.

                   Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner
           Patna High Court CWJC No.11110 of 2021(3) dt.11-03-2026
                                                       2/2




                     had filed an application for pre emption and had even deposited

                     the initial amount. However despite such deposit, his application

                     was dismissed and even the appeal was also dismissed on such

                     ground.

                                 3. Learned AG to AG-12 submits that in view of the

                     judicial pronouncements rendered by the Hon’ble Supreme

                     Court in the case of “Punyadeo Sharma and Others v. Kamla

                     Devi and others reported in 2022 SCC Online SC 2455”, the

                     proceedings under Section 16(3), after the amendment act,

                     2019, pending before any court would abate, in view of such

                     amendment.

                                 4. Considering the aforesaid submissions and taking

                     into account the judgment rendered by the Hon’ble Supreme

                     Court, it is a settled law now that all the applications under

                     Section 16(3) stood abated on account of the amendment, and so

                     was the appeal preferred by the petitioner and therefore there is

                     no illegality in the impugned order.

                                 5. The present application is thus misconceived and

                     thus disposed of accordingly.



                                              (Sourendra Pandey, J)
Gautam/-
U     T

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