2026:JHHC:20443-DB IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI Civil Review No. 33 of 2026 (with I.A. No. 14114 of 2025) Prasanna Narayan, aged about 72 years, wife of Late Shri Birendra Ram, resident of Aishwarya Bhawan, Road No. 3, Kalyanpur, near Singhmore, P.O. Hatia, P.S. Jagarnathpur, District Ranchi (Jharkhand), PIN-834003 … … … Petitioner Versus 1. Jharkhand State Housing Board, through its Managing Director, having its office at Harmu Housing Colony, PO-Harmu, PS-Argora, DistrictRanchi (Jharkhand) PIN-834002 2. The Secretary, Jharkhand State Housing Board, having its office at Harmu Housing Colony, Harmu, PO-Harmu, PS-Argora, District- Ranchi (Jharkhand) PIN-834002 3. The Estate Officer, Jharkhand State Housing Board, having its office at Harmu Housing Colony, Harmu, PO-Harmu, PS-Argora, District- Ranchi (Jharkhand) PIN-834002 4. The Executive Engineer, Ranchi Division, Jharkhand State Housing Board, having its office at Harmu Housing Colony, Harmu, PO- Harmu, PS Argora, District-Ranchi (Jharkhand) PIN-834002 5. M/s R.P Singh, son of not known to the petitioner, resident of Sukhdeonagar, Thana Road, Hehal, PO-Hehal, PS-Sukhdeonagar, District-Ranchi (Jharkhand), PIN-834002 ... Respondents/Opposite Parties --------- CORAM HON’BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE HON’BLE MRS. JUSTICE ANUBHA RAWAT CHOUDHARY --------- For the Petitioner: Mr Bhanu Kumar No.1, Advocate For the Opp. Parties: Mr Sachin Kumar, Advocate Mr Gaurav Raj, Advocate --------- 05/Dated: 10.07.2026 1. Heard Mr Bhanu Kumar No. 1, the learned counsel for the review petitioner, and Mr Sachin Kumar, who appears with Mr Gaurav Raj, learned counsel for the respondent Nos. 1 to 4. 2. I.A. No. 14114 of 2025 seeks condonation of delay of 524 days in instituting the accompanying review petition. 2026:JHHC:20443-DB 3. On perusing such application, we find that no sufficient cause has been shown to condone the delay. 4. The applicant/review petitioner has provided a list of various ailments she has suffered, back-to-back, along with some medical records. However, as pointed out by Mr Gaurav Raj, learned counsel for the respondent Nos. 1 to 4, these ailments did not prevent the review petitioner from filing Letters Patent Appeal and other legal proceedings. 5. Besides, the applicant is assisted by her children in laying a claim to the plot number that is the subject matter of this litigation. Therefore, by attempting to apportion the entire blame to the applicant and by recounting her medical history, the delay of 524 days cannot be said to have been satisfactorily explained. 6. The record shows that the applicant’s husband was the Managing Director of the Housing Board which had to approve the allotment of the plot. Thus, the applicant and her ailments are simply being projected in this matter to garner sympathy and attempt to explain the inordinate delay in filing this appeal. 7. However, even if, we take a liberal view and condone this inordinate and unexplained delay, still, the learned counsel for the review petitioner, having pressed only the contention that the cancellation of the lease favouring the review petitioner causing breach of principles of natural justice and fair play, and further, since this contention has been cogently answered by both the 2026:JHHC:20443-DB learned Single Judge and the Appeal Court, we find no ground for exercising our review jurisdiction. 8. The Appeal Court has considered this submission regarding alleged non-compliance with the principles of natural justice in detail; the reasoning for rejecting this contention is set out in paragraphs 11 to 18. The reasoning contains no error whatsoever, let alone any error apparent from the face of the records. 9. The learned Single Judge and the Appeal Court affirmed the cancellation of allotment based on the established fact that the allotment of the chit put plot (cut plot) was itself in violation of the Regulations of 2004. The learned Single Judge and the Appeal Court noted that the plot allotted to the review petitioner by treating it as the cut plot was neither capable of being treated as such nor could it have been allotted to the review petitioner. The two Courts also noted that this plot was not even adjacent to the review petitioner’s plot, which was a pre-condition for allotment of a cut plot. Since there was no dispute as to these facts, the allotment could certainly have been regarded as void ab initio. 10. The Appeal Court has also recorded a significant finding that, before the cut plot was allotted to the petitioner, no approval from the Housing Board, which was mandatory, was obtained. Further, the Appeal Court has noted that the husband of the review petitioner was the Managing Director of the Housing Board. Both of these are relevant factors that also cast serious doubt on the 2026:JHHC:20443-DB reason stated in the interlocutory application seeking condonation of delay and on the allotment itself. 11. The principles of natural justice cannot be put in a straitjacket. Moreover, there is no such thing as a technical breach of the principles of natural justice. Any party alleging a breach of the principles of natural justice must both plead and establish prejudice. In this case, neither was done by the review petitioner. There was, and perhaps there could be, no dispute that the chit put or cut plot was not even adjacent to the plot originally allotted to the review petitioner. This was a pre-condition for the allotment of cut plots. There was no approval from the Board, which, again, is a requirement that cannot be waived. Given this position, a formal notice would have made no difference in the facts of this case. 12. Accordingly, we find that there was no error, much less any error apparent on the face of records in this review petition, even assuming that we are to condone the delay of 524 days in instituting this review petition. 13. For the above reasons, we dismiss the interlocutory application and the accompanying Review Petition. 14. However, there shall be no order for costs. (M. S. Sonak, C.J.) (Anubha Rawat Choudhary, J.) July 10, 2026 N.A.F.R. Binit/Mukul/Manoj/Cp.2 Uploaded on 14.07.2026