No Person Can Be Deprived Of Source Of Livelihood Without Adhering To Principles Of Natural Justice: Jammu & Kashmir High Court

The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has recently ruled that even if a person hands over documents that were summoned by an authority, the same does not give the authority a free hand to disregard the person's right to a fair hearing. A bench comprising Justice Sanjay Dhar observed, "Adherence to the principles of natural justice is not an empty formality. No person can be deprived of his property or source of livelihood without adhering to the principles of natural justice and without following the procedure prescribed under law". The observations were made while hearing a plea in terms of which the petitioner had challenged an order issued by Collector (Agrarian Reforms) which had revoked revenue entries for a plot of land and directed the removal of a petrol pump installed by the petitioner. The Collector through its order had also recommended the cancellation of petitioners license for the petrol pump. In his plea the petitioner submitted that the Collector had passed the order without issuing a notice to him and without impleading him as a party, despite availability of the report of the Tehsildar that the petitioner is running a petrol pump on the land in question. Petitioner further contended that the said land does not fall within the definition of ‘land’ as given in Section 2(9) of the Agrarian Reforms Act and, as such, Collector did not have any jurisdiction to proceed under Section 10 of the Agrarian Reforms Act. Justice Sanjay Dhar while terming it a "drastic" order said that such a "drastic" action against the petitioner could not have been made without affording him an opportunity of hearing. Observing that there is nothing in the impugned order to show that the petitioner was summoned during the proceedings, the bench pointed out that the record does not even suggest that the petitioner has been given a chance to meet the contents of the application or to produce record or documents, in controversion of the record produced by private respondents. The bench further noted that the impugned order recorded that during the proceedings, the Tehsildar concerned had stated that a petrol pump exists on the spot, and rent is being paid by the proprietor. The owner of the petrol pump has provided documents, including a copy of the license and agreement issued in his favor for running the petrol pump. Answering the question as to whether the report of the Tehsildar could be considered an opportunity for the petitioner to present their, the bench observed that merely because certain documents were summoned from the petitioner does not absolve respondent from its duty to afford an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner. The court said that it was incumbent upon the Collector to implead the petitioner as a party to the proceedings and to provide him copies of all the material on the basis of which he has passed the order so as to afford an opportunity to the petitioner to meet the case of private respondents. "Without undertaking such an exercise, respondent No.2 (Collector Agrarian Reforms) has passed a drastic order affecting the livelihood of the petitioner in an adverse manner, thereby besides directing his eviction from the property in question a recommendation regarding cancellation of his license for running the petroleum outlet has also been made," Justice Dhar said. In view of the same the court ruled that the Collector has failed to follow the principles of natural justice and remanded the case back to him for a fresh decision and directed the Collector to afford an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner, including the right to file pleadings and documents, before arriving at a fresh decision in accordance with law and the observations made by the court. Case Title: Zahoor Ahmad Bhat Vs UT of J&K Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (JKL) 100 Click Here To Read/Download The Order

No Person Can Be Deprived Of Source Of Livelihood Without Adhering To Principles Of Natural Justice: Jammu & Kashmir High Court

Basit Amin Makhdoomi

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