Page No.# 1/7 GAHC010167332026 2026:GAU-AS:14434 THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : WP(C)/4288/2026 BABUL SAIKIA S/O LATE JAI GURAM SAIKIA, R/O VILLAGE- CHOWKHAM, P.O. CHABOTI, DISTRICT- LAKHIMPUR, ASSAM, PIN -787051. VERSUS THE STATE OF ASSAM AND 3 ORS REPRESENTED BY THE SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT OF ASSAM, REVENUE AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT, DISPUR, GUWAHATI -781006. 2:THE DISTRICT COMMISSIONER LAKHIMPUR P.O. NORTH LAKHIMPUR DISTRICT- LAKHIMPUR ASSAM. 3:THE ADDITIONAL DISTRICT COMMISSIONER LAKHIMPUR P.O. NORTH LAKHIMPUR DISTRICT- LAKHIMPUR ASSAM. 4:THE CIRCLE OFFICER NORTH LAKHIMPUR REVENUE CIRCLE LAKHIMPUR DISTRICT- LAKHIMPUR ASSA Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. A K HUSSAIN, MS S HAZARIKA,MR. B HUSSAIN Advocate for the Respondent : GA, ASSAM, SC, REVENUE Page No.# 2/7 BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MANISH CHOUDHURY ORDER Date : 24-09-2026 Heard Mr. A.K. Hussain, learned counsel for the petitioner; Mr. A. Bhattacharyya, learned Standing Counsel, Revenue & Disaster Management Department for the respondent no. 1; and Mr. H. Sarma, learned Additional Senior Government Advocate, Assam for the respondent nos. 2, 3 & 4. 2. This writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is preferred by the petitioner seeking a direction to the respondent authorities, more particularly, the respondent no. 3 and the respondent no. 4 to mutate the name of the petitioner in the Records of Right [Jamabandi] in respect of a plot of land measuring 1 Katha 6 Lessas, covered by Dag no. 705 of Periodic Patta no. 84, situate at Village – Chowkham Gaon, Mouza – Nokari, Revenue Circle – North Lakhimpur, District – Lakhimpur, Assam [‘the subject-plot’, for short]. It is stated that the mutation is sought in terms of an Order and Decree passed by the Court of learned Civil Judge [Sr. Division] Lakhimpur, North Lakhimpur [‘the Trial Court’] in Title Suit no. 15/1999. 3. The events which have led the petitioner to prefer this writ petition can be narrated, briefly, at first. 3.1. The case of the petitioner is that one Padmeswar Saikia @ Padma Nath Chutia, who is a cousin brother of the petitioner, had occupied an area of land Page No.# 3/7 measuring 1 Katha 6 Lessas, covered by Dag no. 618 of Periodic Patta no. 175, situate at Village – Chowkham Gaon, Mouza – Nokari, Revenue Circle – North Lahimpur, District – Lakhimpur, Assam [‘the suit-land’, for short]. It is the case of the petitioner that the suit-land measuring 1 Bigha 6 Lessas were jointly owned by the petitioner with his mother, brother and sister. Seeking a declaration for right, title and interest and eviction of Padmeswar Saikia @ Padma Nath Chutia and restoration of possession of the suit-land measuring 1 Katha 6 Lessas of land, the petitioner as one of the plaintiffs instituted a title suit, Title Suit no. 15/1999. 3.2. During the course of the proceedings of the title suit, the defendant, Padmeswar Saikia @ Padma Nath Chutia came forward with a proposal to compromise the suit with the plaintiffs. Accepting the offer made by the defendant, the plaintiffs and the defendant filed a joint petition before the Trial Court to settle the matter. As per the compromise settlement arrived at, the defendant, Padmeswar Saikia @ Padma Nath Chutia offered and agreed to hand over the subject-plot in exchange of the suit-land involved in Title Suit no. 15/1999 measuring 1 Katha 6 Lessas. 3.3. On submission of the joint petition for compromise settlement before the Trial Court, the Trial Court decreed the title suit, Title Suit no. 15/1999 on compromise by an Order dated 09.11.2001 directing both the parties to register their respective names in the exchanged plots of land at their own costs. Meaning thereby, the plaintiffs of Title Suit no. 15/1999 were required to register their names in the subject-plot measuring 1 Katha 6 Lessas, covered by Dag no. 705 of Periodid Patta no. 84 at Village – Chowkham Gaon wherein the Page No.# 4/7 defendant, Padmeswar Saikia @ Padma Nath Chutia along with his brother was its earlier owner. 3.4. After the Order dated 09.11.2001, the possession of the subject-plot measuring 1 Katha 6 Lessas, covered by Dag no. 705 and Periodic Patta no. 84, was handed over to the plaintiffs in Title Suit no. 15/1999 by the Lat Mandal and Kanongoe. The respondent no. 4 also submitted a report in support of the fact of handing over possession of the subject-plot. Upon examination of the Report of the jurisdictional Circle Officer, the Trial Court recorded the fact of handing over possession to the plaintiffs in Title Suit no. 15/1999 in its Order dated 19.11.2004 and disposed of Title Execution Case no. 10/2003 accordingly. 3.5. After the execution of the Decree on 19.11.2004 and taking possession of the subject-plot measuring 1 Katha 6 Lessas, covered by Dag no. 705 of Periodic Patta no. 84, at Village – Chowkham Gaon, the petitioner and the other plaintiffs in Title Suit 15/1999 were enjoying its possession. The respondent no. 4, on 12.11.2004, also issued a Land Possession Certificate in support of the fact that the petitioner was in possession of the subject-plot measuring 1 Katha 6 Lessas, covered by Dag no. 705 of Periodic Patta no. 84, at Village – Chowkham Gaon. 3.6. For the purpose of mutating the names of the plaintiffs in Title Suit no. 15/1999 in the subject-plot measuring 1 Katha 6 Lessas, the petitioner submitted an application along with an affidavit from Sri Umesh Saikia who was one of the erstwhile joint owner of the subject-plot with Sri Padmeswar Saikia @ Padma Nath Chutia exchanged by the afore-mentioned decree against the suit- land, seeking delivery of the notified public service, ‘Mutation after Deed Page No.# 5/7 Registration’ on 20.12.2023. As the service was not delivered within the time period prescribed under the Assam Right to Public Services Act, 2012, as amended, the petitioner is before this Court by the present writ petition seeking the above direction. 4. Mr. Hussain, learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that in a process of land acquisition for the public purpose, ‘Construction of Road for Lakhimpur Medical College’, an area of land measuring 4 Lessas out of the subject-plot measuring 1 Katha 6 Lessas, covered by Dag no. 705 of Periodic Patta no. 84, at Village - Chowkham Gaon came to be acquired in the year 2021. In view of such acquisition, the area of land presently remains out of the subject-plot measuring 1 Katha 6 Lessas for mutation is 1 Katha 2 Lessas. Mr. Hussain has submitted that the petitioner and his family are, therefore, agreeable to accept mutation only for an area of land measuring 1 Katha 2 Lessas within Dag no. 705 of Periodic Patta no. 84. 5. Mr. Sarma, learned Additional Senior Government Advocate appearing for the respondent nos. 2 – 4 has submitted that initially, the application of the petitioner submitted for delivery of the notified public service, ‘Mutation after Deed Registration’ on 20.12.2023 was rejected on 10.03.2026. Thereafter, the petitioner submitted another application online on 11.03.2026 and the receipt of the said application was acknowledged vide Acknowledgment No. RTPS/MUTD/2026/4591707. He has submitted that the subsequent application dated 11.03.2026 is being presently examined for disposal. 6. It is of relevance to mention that for delivery of the notified public service, Page No.# 6/7 ‘Mutation after Deed Registration’ ordinarily requirement is submission of a copy of the original Registration Deed / certified copy of the Registration Deed. 7. In the case in hand, the right, title and interest in respect of the subject- plot has come to be vested in the plaintiffs of Title Suit no. 15/1999 by virtue of the Order dated 09.11.2001 passed by the Trial Court in Title Suit no. 15/1999 and the Decree executed thereafter on 19.11.2004 in Title Execution Case no. 10/2003. 8. Presently, it is an area of 1 Katha 2 Lessas instead of 1 Katha 6 Lessas out of the subject-plot, where the petitioner is seeking mutation. 9. As the application filed by the petitioner for mutation of his name in the subject-plot is pending, and in view of the above obtaining fact situation, this writ petition is disposed of with the direction to process the application of the petitioner for mutation in respect of an area of land measuring 1 Katha 2 Lessas, covered by Dag no. 705 of Periodic Patta no. 84, at Village – Chowkham Gaon wherein the plaintiffs in Title Suit no. 15/1999 are seen to derive the right, title and interest by virtue of the Order dated 09.11.2001 passed by the Trial Court in Title Suit no. 15/1999 and the execution of the Decree thereafter on 19.11.2004 in Title Execution Case no. 10/2003, as expeditiously as possible, but within an outer limit of six weeks from the date of submission of a copy of this Order by the petitioner before the respondent no. 4. 10. A copy of the Office Letter no. NLC.21/High Court/2025/1566 dated 23.09.2026 of the Circle Officer, North Lakhimpur Revenue Circle, placed by Mr. Page No.# 7/7 Sarma, is kept with the case record by marking it as ‘Document-A’. JUDGE Comparing Assistant