2025:UHC:8259 SL. No. Date Office Notes, reports, orders or proceedings or directions and Registrar’s order with Signatures COURT’S OR JUDGE’S ORDERS WPMS/544/2023 Hon’ble Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J. Mr. Piyush Garg, Advocate for the petitioner. Mr. Suyash Pant, Standing Counsel for the State. 2. Petitioner is aggrieved by cancellation of lease of land, granted to him on 13.11.2003. 3. The principal ground of challenge is that petitioner was not heard while passing the cancellation order dated 15.02.2023. Learned State Counsel concedes that neither notice nor opportunity of hearing was given to the petitioner before passing the cancellation order. 4. Law is well settled that any order, which entails civil or evil consequences, can be passed only after following principles of natural justice. 5. Admittedly, cancellation of lease deed, granted to petitioner in 2003, has civil consequences to him. Since lease has been cancelled on the ground of violation of the terms and conditions of the lease deed, therefore, it would have been desirable, if petitioner was given a show cause and he was called upon to give reply to the allegations made against him. 6. Since that course of action was not 2025:UHC:8259 adopted and cancellation order was unilaterally passed by the Director, Horticulture, therefore, on this short point alone, the impugned cancellation order dated 15.02.2023 is liable to be quashed and is hereby quashed. 7. The writ petition is allowed. 8. The Director, Horticulture shall be at liberty to pass fresh order against the petitioner, but only after issuing a show cause notice, giving 15 days’ time to petitioner to respond. 9. The recommendation made by the Secretary, based on which cancellation order was passed, is also set aside on the grounds already indicated above. 10. Pending application(s), if any, also stand disposed of. (Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J.) 16.09.2025 Mahinder/ MAHINDER SINGH Digitally signed by MAHINDER SINGH DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=da6212e6e78d94ed3134842bc6a8d6ca168979ca7b8c 2f031a92d1a18b08923c, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=AB77B7C5B240908B392BE84F5CDD4C2AF35DC4 626D305B1BC9EA4BABA43D2B8F, cn=MAHINDER SINGH Date: 2025.09.17 17:16:01 +05'30'