Dilip Mahapatra @ Dilip Kumar Mahapatra And ANR. v. State Of West Bengal And ORS.

AD -24 Ct No.16 10.11.2025 (SSS) WPLRT 178 of 2025 Dilip Mahapatra alias Dilip Kumar Mahapatra and Anr.

Vs.

The State of West Bengal and Ors.

Mr. Rabindranath Mahato, Mr. Aritra Shankar Ray, Mr. Swagata Koley, Advs.

......For the petitioners.

Mr. Sirsanya Bandopadhyay, Ld. Snr. Standing Counsel, Ms. Tapati Samanta ....For the State.

1.

Since the private respondents are sailing on the same boat as the petitioners before the Tribunal, service on the said respondents is dispensed with. Since the respondent authorities are represented by counsel, further service on the said respondents is also dispensed with. The matter is taken up for hearing.

2.

The present application is for expeditious hearing of an original application filed by the petitioners before the West Bengal Land Reforms and Tenancy Tribunal. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioners submits that the petitioners filed the original application bearing OA No. 1399

of 2024 along with an application for condonation of delay in filing the OA.

3.

The State was directed by an order dated July 10, 2024 to file an affidavit-in-opposition to the condonation application before the Tribunal. However, till date, no such opposition has been filed.

4.

It is submitted that the next date before the Tribunal has been fixed on March 30, 2026.

5.

It is evident that since despite the State being directed as long back as in the month of July, 2024 to file its affidavit-in-opposition to the condonation application, no opposition has yet been filed, the matter is being unnecessarily protracted.

6.

Accordingly, WPLRT 178 of 2025 is disposed of by directing the respondent authorities to file their affidavit-in-opposition to the condonation application filed by the petitioners in connection with OA No. 1399 of 2024, which is now pending before the First Bench of the West Bengal Land Reforms and Tenancy Tribunal, within December 15, 2025. The Tribunal shall, thereafter, dispose of the said application by shifting back the next date fixed.

7.

It is expected that the Tribunal shall dispose of the condonation application as expeditiously as possible, latest by January 15, 2026.

8.

In the event the application for condonation is allowed, the Tribunal shall make endeavour to dispose of the main Original Application as expeditiously as possible, positively within eight months thereafter.

9.

There will be no order as to costs.

10. The parties shall act on the certified copy of the order, duly downloaded from the official website of this court.

(Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya, J.) (Supratim Bhattacharya, J.)