2025:UHC:10502 SL. No. Date Office Notes, reports, orders or proceedings or directions and Registrar’s order with Signatures COURT’S OR JUDGE’S ORDERS WPMS 1024/2024 Hon’ble Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J. Mr. Narendra Bali, Advocate, for the petitioner. Mr. Ganesh Datt Kandpal, Deputy AG, for the State. (2) Petitioner has challenged order dated 4.12.2023, passed by Additional Secretary, Revenue Department, Govt. of Uttarakhand. The said order was passed under Section 6 of UP Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1953, whereby the notification issued under Section 4 of the said Act was cancelled. (3) Learned Counsel for the petitioner contends that the notification issued under Section 4 of the Act can be cancelled only on one of the four grounds indicated in Rule 17 of UP Consolidation of Holdings Rules, 1954. (4) Learned State Counsel, per contra, submits that the Gram Sabha of Daabki Khurd has passed a resolution stating that 50 per cent of the total land of the village has developed as residential area and a number of petrol pumps, schools, etc have also been established in the remaining part of the land comprised in the village; much of the land has been covered by the National Highway; a number of cases are pending before different courts regarding the land comprised in the village and a number of land owners have sold out the soil from their agricultural fields to the brick kilns, thus rendering the land unfit for cultivation; there is huge difference in the valuation of the land within the village on account of the distance from the highway and, in these circumstances, continuing consolidation proceedings in the village would not serve any purpose. (5) Learned Counsel for the petitioner 2025:UHC:10502 submits that none of the grounds taken by the Gram Sabha in its resolution is referable to Rule 17 of the aforesaid Rules, therefore the State Govt. erred in passing the order under Section 6 of the Act. (6) Rule 17 of the aforesaid Rules is extracted below: “17. Section 6.—The notification made under Section 4 of the Act, may among other reasons, be cancelled in respect of whole or any part of the area on one or more of the following grounds, viz., that— (a) the area is under a development scheme of such a nature as when completed would render the consolidation operations inequitable to a section of the peasantry; (b) the holdings of the village are already consolidated for one reason or the other and the tenure-holders are generally satisfied with the present position; (c) The village is so torn up by party factions as to render proper consolidation proceedings in the village very difficult; and (d) That a co-operative society has been formed for carrying out cultivation in the area after pooling all the land of the area for this purpose.” (7) This Court do not find any reason to interfere in the matter. The grounds taken by the Gram Sabha in its resolution are referable to provision contained in Rule 17(a) and 17(c) of the applicable rules. From the resolution passed by the Gram Sabha, it is apparent that the village is urbanised to a considerable extent, due to its proximity with Nagar Palika, Laksar, therefore continuing consolidation proceedings would be inequitable to a section of persons residing in the village. The resolution also indicates that litigation regarding land is pending before different forums, which attracts Clause (c) of Rule 17. (8) Even otherwise also, order under Section 6 of the Act is passed not by the Gram Sabha, but by the State Govt. The State Govt., after applying its mind to the ground realities and also to the resolution passed by the Gram Sabha, has passed order under Section 6 of 2025:UHC:10502 the Act. Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case, the said order cannot be said to be so arbitrary or irrational, which may warrant interference of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution. Thus, this Court declines to interfere in the matter. Writ petition fails and is dismissed. (Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J.) 25.11.2025 Pr PRABODH KUMAR Digitally signed by PRABODH KUMAR DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=3a082a00a95aff911a9559743af8f21c50602ff6eae4e61af3aeab198d462503, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=0DC111E8D8CA66E16B940EFDF806ACCC1AB588052DF6FCA58C67F3C91957BE53, cn=PRABODH KUMAR Date: 2025.11.27 10:11:11 +05'30'