Radha Raman Lal vs The State Of Bihar on 22 April, 2026

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    Patna High Court

    Radha Raman Lal vs The State Of Bihar on 22 April, 2026

              IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                        Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.12516 of 2022
         ======================================================
         Radha Raman Lal Son of Late Surya Narayan Lal, Resident of Village-
         Itharwa, P.O. Darima, Dist Madhubani, PIN 847112.
    
                                                                    ... ... Petitioner/s
                                            Versus
    1.   The State of Bihar through the District Magistrate, Madhubani
    2.   Deputy Development Commissioner (DDC), Madhubani
    3.   Circle officer (C.O.) Block Bishfi, Madhubani.
    4.   Blok Development Officer, Block Bishfi, Madhubani.
    5.   LOk Shikayat Nivaran Padadhikari, Benipatti, Madhubani
    6.   Superintendent of Police (S.P.), Madhubani.
    7.   Mukihya, Dilip Kumar Safi, Panchayat Singhia Purvi, Block Bisfi,
         Madhubani, PIN 847112
    8.   Binay Kumar Jha Son of Late Kaladhar Jha Resident of Village Itharwa, P.O.
         Darima, Madhubani, PIN 847122
    9.   Yoganand Jha Son of Late Upendra Jha Resident of Village Itharwa, P.O.
         Darima, Madhubani, PIN 847122
    10. Abhilashanand Jha Son of Late Kaladhar Jha Resident of Village Itharwa,
        P.O. Darima, Madhubani, PIN 847122
    
                                                   ... ... Respondent/s
         ======================================================
         Appearance :
         For the Petitioner/s          :       Ms. Archana Sinha, Sr. Advocate
                                               Mr. Alok Shahi, Advocate
                                               Mr. Akshat Arghya, Advocate
                                               Ms. Swarna Roy, Advocate
                                               Mr. Sanjeev Kumar, Advocate
         For the Respondent/s          :       Mr. Raj Kishore Roy (GP18)
         For the Respondent No. 8   Mr. Baidyanath Thakur
                                       :
         ======================================================
         CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SOURENDRA PANDEY
         CAV JUDGMENT
    

    Date : 29-04-2026
    Heard Ms. Archana Sinha, learned senior Advocate on

    behalf of the petitioner, Mr. Baidynath Thakur, learned counsel on

    SPONSORED

    behalf of Respondent No. 8 and the learned counsel for the State.

    2. The present writ application has been preferred by the

    petitioner seeking following relief(s):

    Patna High Court CWJC No.12516 of 2022 dt. 29-04-2026
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    (i) For protecting the interest of the
    petitioner by directing the respondents to remove the
    illegal construction of road from the private/khatiyani
    land of the petitioner;

    (ii) For directing the respondents to
    remove the illegal construction of the road which was
    constructed in connivance with the authorities
    without acquiring the land and also without taking
    consent from the petitioner;

    (iii) For directing the respondents to take
    action against the encroachers/respondents as per law
    and;

    (iv) For any other consequential relief or
    reliefs for which the petitioner is found entitled
    during the course of hearing of this writ petition.

    3. The facts giving rise to the present writ application is

    to the effect that the petitioner is the owner of the land namely

    8732 (old) 15521, 16335 (new) situated at Itharwa, Block Bisfi,

    Madhubani and is in possession of the same howeever the private

    respondent in connivance with Ward Commissioner/Zila Parshad

    has constructed a P.C.C. road on the Raiyati land of the petitioner

    without taking any consent/acquisition of land by the Government,

    which was exclusively for the personal use of the private

    respondent.

    4. Ms. Archana Sinha, learned senior counsel for the

    petitioner, submits that the petitioner has acquired the land through

    Bandobasti and is paying rent to the government, which also finds

    mention in Khatiyan. (Annexure-1). It is submitted that upon

    several representations filed by the son of the petitioner before

    officer-in-charge, Bishfi P.S., before Lok Shikayat Nivaran
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    Padadhikari, Benipatti Sub-Division, Madhubani and also before

    Janta Darbar of Hon’ble the Chief Minister, who, thereafter,

    directed Circle Officer to send Government appointed Amin to

    measure the land, who submitted the report which was found in

    favour of the petitioner. It is next submitted that Deputy

    Development Commissioner (DDC), Madhubani directed the

    Circle Officer, Bishfi, Madhubani to provide possession of land to

    the petitioner, who did not take action for the same and upon

    inquiry stated that he is seeking legal opinion of ADC, Madhubani.

    It is further submitted that District Magistrate, Madhubani

    instructed the Circle Officer, Bishfi, Madhubani to comply with

    the same whereafter the said Circle Officer, Bishfi, Madhubani

    fixed specific date for the petitioner to be present at site, so that

    encroachment be removed and possession be given but the Circle

    Officer, Bishfi, Madhubani, himself, did not turn up.

    5. It is next submitted that subsequently again Circle

    Officer, Bishfi, Madhubani failed to provide any information and

    allegedly the land was encroached by respondents for giving

    benefit to one person and more so, no objection signature has

    fraudulently been taken from Binay Kumar Jha (private

    respondent) and he has also presented false facts before SDM

    Court.

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    6. It is submitted through the rejoinder that the

    construction took place on 06/07.02.2021 and an application was

    submitted with wrong Panchnama on 29.10.2021. The

    Panchnama itself suffers from a number of infirmities which

    cannot be legally acceptable. It is submitted that the petitioner

    acquired the land legally and has been paying rent to the

    Government of Bihar. It is further submitted that no subsequent

    mention about use of land for transport was ever mentioned by

    respondents. The learned senior counsel submitted that since the

    land was not closed, the same was being used by people as a

    passage but that does not give right to the Mukhiya to use

    government funds to construct a concrete road over the same.

    7. Ms. Archana Sinha, learned senior counsel thus has

    prayed that the illegal construction of P.C.C. road be demolished.

    8. The learned G.P.-18 making submissions on behalf of

    Respondent No. 1 to 3 submitted that the present petition is barred

    by principle of estoppel, waiver and acquiescence. It is submitted

    that the land appertaining to Khata No. 801 is recorded as

    Gairmajarua Khaas under cadastral survey and is not a raiyati

    land as claimed by the petitioner and the land was being used as

    passage for time immemorial and thus no consent was required for

    construction of P.C.C. road. It is submitted that Binay kumar Jha
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    and Yoganand Jha filed an application before Circle Officer,

    Bishfi, Madhubani on 29.10.2021, wherein they have produced a

    copy of panchnama dated 08.01.1979 stating that petitioner has

    admitted the passage for ingress and outgress and allowed the land

    to be used as road.

    9. It is next submitted that petitioner has never acquired

    land from an ex-landlord or from the State and rent receipt does

    not create or extinguish the title. It is also submitted that in C.S,

    Khatiyan land was entered as Gairmajarua Khaas while in

    revisional survey Records of Rights, land is mentioned as raiyati

    land and no NOC was obtained from Circle Officer, Bishfi,

    Madhubani hence direction was sought from Additional Collector

    for vacating the land in question. It is lastly submitted that upon

    question being posed on Circle Officer as to why the direction of

    Deputy Development Commissioner (DDC), Madhubani was not

    complied it has been stated that the same could not be done on

    account of non availability of police force. The State has relied on

    the panchanama dated 08.01.1979, whereby the petitioner has

    allowed passage and earlier Kharanja road was constructed and

    later P.C.C. road was constructed over the same.

    10. Mr. Baidyanath Thakur, learned counsel representing

    Respondent No. 8 submits that the petitioner has tried to mislead
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    this court by stating that the passage was his personal land

    however the same was being used for more than 40 years as Rasta,

    which the petitioner has himself permitted to the father of the

    answering respondent. It has been submitted that with the efflux of

    time the said land being permitted to be used as Rasta (Passage)

    has created a right of easement and therefore the same cannot be

    disturbed only because a P.C.C. road has been constructed upon

    the same. He has emphatically asserted that once the petitioner has

    allowed the passage to be used for others the right of easement has

    accrued to the respondents and as there was a Khranja road

    existing on the said land the same has been converted into a

    concrete road and therefore there is no new change to the usage of

    the land and hence the writ petition is fit to be dismissed.

    11. Having heard the learned counsels for the parties,

    two issues come out which need adjudication in the present writ

    application. One is as to whether government funds can be used to

    construct a P.C.C. Road over a Raiyati land? The other, whether a

    right of easement granted by the petitioner through a Panchnama

    can be withdrawn subsequently by getting the P.C.C. road

    demolished?

    12. The land in question is a Raiyati land of the

    petitioner, has not been denied though the State has raised a vague
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    question as to how a Gair Majarua Khas entry was converted into a

    Raiyati land. The ownership and possession of the petitioner has

    not been denied and in fact the same is admitted, if the Panchnama

    is taken into consideration. The land being Raiyati Land and if

    there is no ‘No Objection’ from the petitioner granting permission

    to construct a Concrete road, government funds could not have

    been used for such construction. Such construction of road using

    raiyati lands of people are permissible only when the persons agree

    and willingly give their no objection for such construction. Hence,

    the construction of a road on such land is not permitted and has

    thus rightly been directed to be removed.

    13. The other question with regard to the right of

    easement raised by the private respondent no. 8 on the basis of

    some Panchnama said to be executed way back in 1979 can be

    answered simply that the right of easement is enforceable and if

    the respondent no. 8 is aggrieved by any such action of the

    petitioner of denying him the right of passage as decided in the

    year 1979 then he can move a competent court of civil jurisdiction

    and claim his right. From the prayers made in this writ petition and

    also the pleadings this writ petition has not been filed to decide the

    rights of the parties and claim and counter claims with respect to

    the land in question and the same cannot also be decided in a writ
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    jurisdiction hence the arguments being raised by the learned

    counsel for the respondent no. 8 cannot be looked into in the

    present proceedings, which is not even dealing with the said issue.

    14. The petitioner is only aggrieved by the fact of

    construction of a pacca (concrete) road constructed on his land by

    government funds and it is the said issue which needs to be

    adjudicated.

    15. As already observed herein above, the construction

    of a Pacca road over the raiyati lands of the petitioner cannot be

    permitted, if the same has been done without any consent and

    willingness by the petitioner and the same needs to be demolished.

    16. The District Magistrate, Madhubani is directed that

    he shall ensure that the concrete construction made on the land of

    the petitioner is demolished within a period of one month from the

    date of production/communication of this order. The state shall be

    at liberty to recover the amount used in such construction of road

    from the erring persons after fixing the liability.

    17. The writ application is allowed.

    (Sourendra Pandey, J)
    krishna/-

    AFR/NAFR                NAFR
    CAV DATE                20.04.2026
    Uploading Date          29.04.2026
    Transmission Date       NA
     



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