Legally Speaking

Allahabad HC investigates change in land ownership

NEW DELHI

The Allahabad High Court has called for the examination of complete revenue records relating to the change of land ownership from the Banke Bihari Ji Maharaj temple to a ‘graveyard’ in the case Sri Bihari Ji Seva Trust vs. State Of U.P. And 4 Others. The directive was given by Justice Saurabh Srivastava after a plea was filed by the Sri Bihari Ji Seva Trust in Mathura.
The court has requested Ms. Shweta, the Sub-Divisional Officer of tehsil-Chhata, district-Mathura, to present the entire revenue records concerning the changes made over time to the land ownership of plot no. 1081, located in village-Shahpur. An affidavit detailing the changes is also to be filed.
The petitioner trust brought to the court’s attention that the said plot, originally registered as Mandir Bake Bihari Ji Maharaj in state revenue records, underwent a change in 2004, listing it as a graveyard. The trust’s plea appeals for a direction to decide on their application for the correction of this revenue entry, which, according to them, was illegally recorded as a graveyard.
It was argued in court that the plot had been historically registered in the name of Banke Bihari Maharaj. However, in 1994, Bhola Khan Pathan allegedly had the land re-registered as a graveyard, purportedly in collusion with revenue officials. Given the gravity of the claim, the court directed the respondent No. 3, or tehsildar, to appear in person to provide clarification on the series of changes made to the land’s
ownership records. While a personal affidavit was provided by respondent no. 3, it failed to offer clarity on why the name of the petitioner, once recorded as bhumidhar with transferable rights in the 1359 Fasli base year records, was changed.
To further delve into the matter, the court has scheduled the next hearing, expecting the Sub-Divisional Officer to present all the relevant documents, for September 5, 2023.

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