Page No. 1/3 GAHC010244012025 2025:GAU-AS:16450 THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : WP(C)/6740/2025 SRI GAMBHIR CH DEORI S/O LATE MINARAM DEORI, R/O VILLAGE-BANDERDEWA, MOUZA- KHERAJKHAT, P.S.-BIHPURIA, DISTRICT-LAKHIMPUR, ASSAM, PIN-784163. VERSUS THE STATE OF ASSAM and othrs REPRESENTED BY COMMISSIONER GOVERNMENT AND SECRETARY TO THE OF ASSAM, REVENUE AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT, ASSAM SECRETARIAT, DISPUR, GUWAHATI-06. 2:THE DISTRICT COMMISSIONER NORTH LAKHIMPUR DISTRICT-LAKHIMPUR ASSAM PIN-787001. 3:THE CIRCLE OFFICE NARAYANPUR REVENUE CIRCLE DISTRICT-LAKHIMPUR ASSAM PIN783301 Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. A NARZARI, MS. S T BOKTH Advocate for the Respondent : SC, REVENUE, GA, ASSAM Page No. 2/3 BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MANISH CHOUDHURY ORDER Date : 01.12.2025 Heard Mr. A. Narzari, learned counsel for the petitioner; Ms. G. Hazarika, learned Standing Counsel, Revenue and Disaster Management Department for the respondent no. 1; and Mr. S.S. Roy, learned Junior Government Advocate, Assam for the respondent nos. 2 & 3. 2. The petitioner, a senior citizen of 86 years, has approached this Court by the instant writ petition on the ground that despite approaches being made with a request to furnishing a copy of a Periodic Patta, the respondent authorities, more particularly, the respondent no. 3 has not paid any heed to it. 3. The case of the petitioner, as projected in the writ petition, is that he is the owner and in possession of a plot of land measuring 1 Bigha, covered by Dag nos. 99 & 100 and Periodic Patta no. 5, situate at Village – Banderdewa of Mouza – Kherajkhat, Narayanpur Revenue Circle, District – Lakhimpur [‘the subject-plot’, for short]. The petitioner has stated that he has been paying the land revenue in respect of the subject-plot till date and has also constructed a building thereon after taking a housing loan from bank. The petitioner has further stated that in respect of the subject-plot, he was earlier issued a Periodic Patta in original. But, he lost the original copy of the Periodic Patta and despite best efforts, he could not trace out the same. In this connection, the petitioner had also lodged a First Information Report [FIR] on 24.06.2025. Thereafter, he submitted an application before the respondent no. 3 on 24.07.2025 to issue him a copy of the Periodic Patta. Projecting that the respondent no. 3 has neither given any consideration to the application nor has issued a copy of the Periodic Patta to the petitioner, the petitioner has approached before this Court. 4. Ms. Hazarika, learned Standing Counsel, Revenue and Disaster Management Department and Mr. Roy, learned Junior Government Advocate, Assam appearing for the official respondents have submitted that there is provision for issuing a duplicate copy of the Periodic Patta, if the Periodic Patta holder is able to show genuine reason for seeking the Page No. 3/3 duplicate copy. If the petitioner has submitted an application before the respondent no. 3 then the writ petition can be disposed of with a direction to the respondent no. 3 to give consideration to the application, stated to have been submitted by the petitioner on 24.07.2025, and to examine his prayer for issuance of a duplicate of the Periodic Patta within a reasonable period at time. 5. Mr. Narzari, learned counsel for the petitioner has agreed with the above submission of the learned official respondents. 6. In view of the broad consensus arrived at by the learned counsel for the parties in the afore-stated manner, this Court is of the view that instead of keeping this writ petition pending, the same can be disposed of with a direction to the respondent authorities, more particularly, the respondent no. 3 to give consideration to the application, stated to have been submitted by the petitioner on 24.07.2025, before him on merits and if the case of the petitioner is found to be having then the respondent no. 3 shall consider for issuance of the duplicate copy of the Periodic Patta on its own merits and in accordance with law, if a duplicate is permissible to be issued. Otherwise, the respondent no. 3 shall pass a speaking order. It is ordered accordingly. The entire exercise is to be completed within a period of one month from the date of submission of a certified copy of this order along with a copy of the writ petition with annexures by the petitioner at the office of the respondent no. 3. 7. This order disposes of the writ petition. JUDGE Comparing Assistant