Bombay High Court
RANGRAO BALU GHATGE DECD. THR. LHRS BHIMRAO RANGRAO GHATGE AND ANRversusTHE ADDI. COMMISSIONER REVENUE DIVISION PUNE AND ORS
- Disposal
- Disposed Off
Holding
The court declined to grant the writ relief and disposed of the petition, directing the petitioners to approach the Additional Collector with an appropriate application for restoration.
Summary
The petitioners sought a court direction compelling the Additional Collector to implement a 1995 order that set aside a Tahsildar's reservation of government land (Gat No. 59) for the Kumbhi Irrigation Project and to restore the land to them. They argued that the land, originally allotted to their predecessors in 1947, was later allotted to other respondents on 13 January 1994, and that a revision of that allotment was dismissed in July 2019, leaving the land available for restoration. The court examined the procedural history, noting that the petitioners could have approached the Additional Collector for restoration after the 1995 order, and that a civil suit by the intervening respondents had been partly decreed. The court observed that no application appears to have been made to the Additional Collector and that the petitioners must pursue that avenue, considering all material, including the civil decree. Consequently, the writ petition was disposed of without granting the relief sought.
Issues considered
- Whether the 30 December 1995 order of the Additional Collector mandating restoration of the land to the petitioners remains enforceable despite subsequent allotment and revision proceedings.
- Whether the petitioners are entitled to a writ directing the respondents to implement the 1995 order and restore the land.
- Whether the court can compel the Additional Collector to act in the absence of a specific application by the petitioners.
Subjects
- land restoration
- government land
- allotment
- revision petition
- writ petition
- additional collector
- Kumbhi Irrigation Project
Judgment
2026:BHC-KOL:7806-DB
13-WP-3344-2023.doc
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CIRCUIT BENCH AT KOLHAPUR
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
WRIT PETITION NO. 3344 OF 2023
Rangrao Balu Ghatge Decd. Thr. Lhrs Bhimrao ...Petitioners
Rangrao Ghatge And Anr
Versus
The Addi. Commissioner Revenue Division Pune And ...Respondents
Ors
——————
Mr. Abhijeet Desai i/b Mr. Nitin Deshpande, for the Petitioner.
Mr. S. B. Kalel, AGP for the Respondent-State.
——————
Coram : SHARMILA U. DESHMUKH &
NEERAJ P. DHOTE, JJ.
Date : AUGUST 20, 2026
P. C. :
1. By the present Petition, the Petitioners seek a direction to
Respondent Nos. 1 to 4 to implement the judgment and order of the
Additional Collector dated 30 th December, 1995, conduct a review of the
allotment order dated 13th January, 1994, and restore the lands allotted
to the Petitioners.
2. The case of the Petitioners is that Gat No. 59 was government
land, which came to be allotted to the pre-decessors of the Petitioners
by an order dated 27th October, 1947. On 24th February, 1986, the
Tahsildar cancelled the allotment of the land and reserved the same for
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persons affected by the Kumbhi Irrigation Project. The order of the
Tahsildar was challenged before the Sub-Divisional Officer, and the
Appeal was rejected. Subsequently, an Appeal was filed before the
Additional Collector, Kolhapur, which allowed the Appeal by an order
dated 30th December, 1995.
3. By an order dated 13th January, 1994, a part of Gat No. 59 was
allotted to Respondent Nos. 5 to 11. The Additional Collector directed
the names of Respondent Nos. 5 to 11 to be shown in the cultivation
column till a review by the Resettlement Branch.
4. It is contended that the Resettlement Branch ought to have
cancelled the allotment dated 13th January, 1994, and restored the land
bearing Gat No. 59 to the Petitioners. It is pleaded that though the
allotment order was passed on 13 th January, 1994, in favour of
Respondent Nos. 5 to 11, the Revision Petition filed by them was
decided on 29th July, 2019, and therefore, the Petitioners had to wait.
5. We have considered the submissions canvassed by the learned
counsel for the Petitioners, which are in consonance with the contents
of the Petition, and we have perused the record.
6. The Petitioners claim restoration of the land based on the order
dated 30th December, 1995, by which the order of Tahsildar reserving
the land for allotment to persons affected by the Kumbhi Irrigation
Project was set aside. It was open to the Petitioners at that stage to
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adopt the necessary proceedings seeking restoration of the land. The
explanation tendered is that on 13th January, 1994, part of the land was
allotted to Respondent Nos. 5 to 11, and thereafter, a revision was filed
by Respondent Nos. 5 to 11, which was decided on 29 th July, 2019. As it
is claimed that the revision was dismissed, it is now open to the
Petitioners to approach the Additional Collector and seek restoration of
the lands. This Court is also informed that a Civil Suit was filed by
Respondent Nos. 5 to 11 seeking protection of possession, which has
come to be partly decreed. There is no clarity as to whether an Appeal
has been filed by the present Petitioners against the said decree.
7. The Additional Collector, if any such application has been made
seeking restoration of the lands based on the order dated 30 th
December, 1995, to consider all materials on record, including the
decree passed by the Civil Court, and thereafter, pass appropriate
orders.
8. The Petition is disposed of in the above terms.
[NEERAJ P. DHOTE, J.] [SHARMILA U. DESHMUKH, J.]
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