Patna HC Restores 39-Year-Old Land Records, Says State Cannot Cancel Jamabandi Without Notice

Justice Sourendra Pandey allowed a writ petition filed by Sunita Rani Sah, widow of late Raghunath Sah, after finding that the authorities had cancelled land records standing in the family's name for decades without giving them an opportunity to be heard.

The dispute concerned 78 decimals of land in Katihar district. According to the petitioner, her husband's parents had purchased the land through registered sale deeds in 1967, obtained mutation in their favour, and continued paying rent to the government. After their deaths, the land devolved upon Raghunath Sah, who remained in possession of the property.

The controversy surfaced when the family was informed that the jamabandis had been cancelled and that government construction work was being carried out on the land.

Before the High Court, the petitioner argued that the cancellation proceedings were conducted behind the family's back, without notice or hearing, despite the land records having remained in existence for more than five decades. It was further contended that valuable rights had accrued over the years and could not be unsettled through a summary administrative process.

The State defended the action by claiming that the original settlee of the land was prohibited from transferring it and that the subsequent transactions violated government rules governing settled land. Officials maintained that the cancellation was justified because the land ultimately belonged to the State.

However, the Court found several flaws in the government's actions.

The Court noted that the order passed by the authorities referred only to cancellation of earlier jamabandis and did not specifically address the jamabandis standing in the names of the petitioner's predecessors. Yet, those records were later treated as cancelled and entered in the name of the Bihar government.

Justice Pandey observed that the family had been paying rent and enjoying recognition of their rights for decades before the records were abruptly cancelled. The Court also found that the Circle Officer had cancelled jamabandis that were not covered by the recommendation for cancellation.

Most importantly, the Court reiterated a settled principle that longstanding jamabandis cannot be cancelled through summary proceedings. Even if the State disputes a person's title over land, it must approach a civil court and establish its claim through proper legal proceedings rather than unilaterally cancelling land records.

Relying on earlier precedents, including Maya Devi v. State of Bihar and State of Bihar v. Harendra Nath Tiwary, the Court held that the government cannot evict citizens or deprive them of property rights merely by cancelling jamabandis without notice and adjudication.

Quashing the entire proceedings in Miscellaneous Case No. 14 of 2017-18, the Court directed restoration of Jamabandi Nos. 2858 and 2859. At the same time, it clarified that the State would remain free to pursue its claim before an appropriate legal forum if it wished to challenge the family's title.