Maybe A 'Demigod In Rural Society' But 'Not A God,' MP High Court Orders FIR Against Patwari For Creating Bogus Report To Prove Title

In a dispute pertaining to the mutation of land in favor of certain persons, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has initiated action against a Patwari in Satna District for furnishing an allegedly bogus report to enable the sons of former Chief Minister Govind Narayan Singh to establish title over a piece of land in Rampur Baghellan village.

The single-judge bench of Justice Vivek Agarwal directed the Collector of Satna District to issue a show-cause notice to the concerned Patwari and initiate disciplinary action. The Collector should be able to receive the Patwari's reply within 30 days. Such a reply should contain details about the applicable legal provisions under which such a report was made, the court added. The Collector has also been asked to lodge an FIR against the concerned Patwari under intimation to the Registry of the High Court.

“…Patwari is not a God. He may be a demigod in the rural society but, he cannot supersede the legal provisions. There should be some foundation for recording possession of the petitioners Ashok Singh and others by the concerned Patwari…”, the bench sitting at Jabalpur highlighted that no revenue records have been produced to show possession of Ashok Singh and other petitioners over the piece of land.

The counsel for the petitioners agreed that there are no documents like a registered sale deed or gift deed to prove the title except for the Patwari report issued in 2018, which is favourable to the petitioners. However, the court noted that it's unclear as to how the rights of parties can be determined on the basis of a Patwari report.

The counsel for the petitioners also submitted that his clients were residents of Haryana and never came to Madhya Pradesh to cultivate the said piece of land measuring 6.086 Hectares.

“…if the land was in the name of Shri Govind Narayan Singh and it was not a Benami transaction then, what Shri Govind Narayan Singh or his children were doing for so many years to get their names mutated in their favour or to challenge the mutation as was carried out in favour of Shri Manohar Lal Seth”, the court raised a question in return which wasn't answered satisfactorily.

Since the petitioners failed to demonstrate how they or their ancestors acquired any rights over the said land, the court concluded that they had no right to challenge the mutation in the names of the respondent successors of Manohar Lal Seth.

The case has been listed for directions in the week commencing on 27.05.2024 so as to enable the Collector, Satna, to report compliance with the order.

Case Title: Ashok Singh & Ors. v. Poonam & Ors and Girijashankar v. State of Madhya Pradesh & Ors

Case No: Miscellaneous Petition No. 7607 of 2023 and Writ Petition No. 3917 of 2024

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