Pintu Charan Khanra And Others v. State Of West Bengal And ORS.

M/L 444 25.01.2023 Court. No. 19 GB W.P.A. 6800 of 2022 Pintu Charan Khanra & Ors.

VS The State of West Bengal & Ors.

Mr. Uttam Kumar Bhattacharya ... for the Petitioners.

Affidavit-of-service filed in Court today, be kept with the record.

Despite service, none appears on behalf of the respondents. This Court is not inclined to pass any mandatory directions but is relegating the matter before the competent authority for determination of the allegation of unauthorized construction. Thus, the writ petition is taken up and disposed of in their absence.

The petitioners have alleged that one of the co-owners of Plot No.1 of Mouza-Osmanpur has raised an unauthorized construction without any conversion and without permission from the permission granting authority.

The writ petition is disposed of with a direction upon the Bachhri gram panchayat to dispose of the representation of the petitioners which is Annexure-P/4 at Pages 21 and 22 of the writ petition in accordance with law.

While doing so, the following procedure shall be adopted:- a) An inspection shall be conducted. Such inspection shall be held in the presence of the petitioners and the respondent no.9. An advance notice of inspection shall be served upon the petitioners, the

respondent no.9 and on all other interested parties. If the parties are not available to accept notice, the same shall be affixed at a conspicuous place in the respective premises.

b) In case, it is found on preliminary inspection that the construction was without permission and was continuing, the authorities may take interim measures, by stopping such construction.

c) A report of such inspection shall be prepared along with a sketch map, indicating the extent and nature of unauthorized construction, if any.

d) Such report shall be handed over to the parties. The question of title, possession and boundary dispute etc. shall not be decided by the panchayat authorities. The questions to be decided by the panchayat authorities would be whether the construction has been made without any conversion to bastu, without any permission or in violation of the building rules.

e) A hearing shall be given to the petitioners and the respondent no.9. The parties must also be allowed to furnish their written objection/version to the said report and adduce oral and documentary evidence in support of their contentions before the competent authority. All points raised by either party, will be decided.

f) A reasoned order shall be passed and communicated to the parties. On the basis of what transpires at the hearing and during inspection, the

proceedings shall be reached to its logical conclusion in terms of Section 23(5) of the West Bengal Panchayat Act, 1973.

The court has not gone into the merits of the claims of the petitioner and the issues involved shall be decided independently.

The entire exercise shall be completed within a period of four months from the date of communication of this order. Accordingly, the writ petition is disposed of. However, there will be no order as to costs.

All the parties are directed to act on the basis of the server copy of this order.

(Shampa Sarkar, J.)