Page No.# 1/6 GAHC010113392026 undefined THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : WP(C)/3152/2026 SRI RANJAN KUMAR GOGOI, S/O LATE TANKESWAR GOGOI, R/O VILLAGE NALKATA, P.O. BOGOLIJAN, P.S. NORTH LAKHIMPUR, DISTRICT LAKHIMPUR, ASSAM. 2: SRI PUTUL GOGOI S/O LATE TANKESWAR GOGOI R/O VILLAGE NALKATA P.O. BOGOLIJAN P.S. NORTH LAKHIMPUR DISTRICT LAKHIMPUR ASSAM VERSUS THE STATE OF ASSAM, AND OTHRS REPRESENTED BY THE COMMISSIONER SECRETARY TO THE REVENUE DEPARTMENT, GOVERNMENT OF ASSAM, DISPUR, GUWAHATI, PIN-781006. 2:THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER LAKHIMPUR DISTRICT LAKHIMPUR ASSAM PIN787001. 3:THE CIRCLE OFFICER NORTH LAKHIMPUR REVENUE CIRCLE DISTRICT LAKHIMPUR ASSAM PIN787001 Page No.# 2/6 Advocate for the Petitioner : MR N AHMED, MS. R SULTANA,MR. M M ZAMAN,MR. N J DUTTA Advocate for the Respondent : SC, REVENUE, GA, ASSAM BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MANISH CHOUDHURY ORDER Date : 23-06-2026 Heard Mr. N. Ahmed, learned counsel for the petitioner; Ms. N. Bordoloi, learned Standing Counsel, Revenue Department for the respondent no. 1; and Mr. H. Sarma, learned Additional senior Government Advocate, Assam for the respondent nos. 2 & 3. 2. The two petitioners are sons of one Late Tankeswar Gogoi. In this writ petition, the petitioners have stated that the family of the petitioners are owners of a parcel of land measuring 22 Bighas 18 Lessas, covered by Dag nos. 2, 37, 74, 75, 80, 84, 96, 97 & 111 under K.P. Patta no. 69[Old]/77[New] at Village – Nalkata, Mouza – Nakari, Sub-Division - North Lakhimpur, Circle, North Lakhimpur, District – Lakhimpur, Assam [subject-plot no. 1] and another plot of land measuring 1 Bigha 4 Kathas, covered by Dag no. 689 of K.P. Patta no. 88 at Revenue Village – Guwarishali, Mouza – Nakari, Sub-Division – North Lakhimpur, Circle – North Lakhimpur, District – Lakhimpur [subject-plot no. 2]. The petitioners have stated that by inheritance, they became the land owners of the aforementioned two subject-plots after death of their predecessors-in- interest. In order to get the two subject-plots mutated in their names, the petitioners submitted a number of applications before the respondent no. 3 with the last application on 23.12.2024. Stating that the said applications submitted for mutation have not been given consideration by the respondent no. 3 till Page No.# 3/6 date, the petitioners are before this Court by the instant writ petition seeking inter alia a direction to the respondent authorities, more particularly, the respondent no. 3 to consider and dispose of their applications submitted on 23.12.2024 for mutation within a definite time frame. 3. Both Ms. Bordoloi and Mr. Sarma have submitted that the applications for mutation are found to have been submitted by the petitioner physically in offline mode. After enactment of the Assam Right to Public Services Act, 2012 and mutation being declared as a notified public service, an application for mutation is to be submitted only through online mode in the designated portal. In Lakhimpur District, an application for mutation is necessary to be submitted only in on-line mode. 4. The Assam Right to Public Services Act, 2012 [‘the Act, 2012’, for short] has been enacted by the Assam Legislative Assembly in order to provide for delivery of notified public services to the people of the State of Assam within the stipulated time limit and for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto. As per Section 2[h], ‘Right to Public Service’ means right to obtain the notified service under the Act from time to time within the stipulated time limit as described under Section 5 and as per Section 2[i], ‘notified service’ means any service notified by the State Government under Section 4. Section 5 of the Act has laid down that every eligible person shall have the right to obtain the services in accordance with the Act within the time bound period as notified under Section 4. It is liability of the Government Servant to deliver services, under Section 6 of the Act, within the stipulated period. The stipulated time limit, as per Section 7[1], starts from the date when the application for obtaining a required notified service is submitted to the Designated Public Servant or to a person subordinate to him authorized to receive the application. Such application shall be duly acknowledged. As per Section 7[2], the Designated Public Servant on receipt of an application under sub-section [1] shall, within the stipulated time limit, provide the notified service or reject the application and in case of rejection Page No.# 4/6 of application, he shall record the reasons in writing and communicate to the person making the application,- [i] the reasons for such rejection; [ii] the period within which an appeal against such rejection may be preferred; and [iii] the particulars of the Appellate Authority. Section 8 of the Act has provided for an appeal before the Appellate Authority and also for a review before the Reviewing Authority. 5. The State Government by a Notification no. AR.69/2011/Pt-II/98 dated 10.04.2013 has notified the Designated Public Servant, Appellate Authority, Reviewing Authority, stipulated time limit, user charge for delivery of notified services, which includes the Registration [Mutation] as a notified service, etc. as under :- Serial No. 25 Notified public service Office mutation [Registration] If no objection is filed. Stipulated time limit for providing the service [Days] 60 days, if no objection from any person is filed during the proceeding. Designation of Designated Public Servant Circle Officer/ Circle Officer [Attached] Designation of Appellate Authority Deputy Commissioner or Additional Deputy Commissioner nominated by Deputy Commissioner [wherever applicable] Time limit for disposal by Appellate Authority [Days] 30 days Designation of Reviewing Authority Commissioner of Divisions Time limit for disposal by Reviewing Authority [Days] 30 days Documents to be enclosed with the application A. In case Mutation [Registration] is sought on the basis of transfer of land by way of purchase, gift, Mortgage or inheritance along with the specified form with required court fee:- 1. Photocopy the Original Registered Deed/ certified copy of the deed of transfer. 2. Photocopy of up to date land revenue receipt/land revenue clearance receipt of the land for which the Mutation [Registration] is sought. 3. A declaration stating that the Applicant does not possess Page No.# 5/6 land in excess of the limit laid down under the Assam Fixation of Ceiling on Land Holding Act, 1956. B. If mutation [Registration] is sought by way of inheritance. 1. Proof of death of the deceased Pattadar in whose place Mutation [Registration] is sought. 2. An affidavit [a] Swearing that the Applicant/applicants is/are the son/daughter/wife/legal heirs of the deceased pattadar. [b] Swearing that the Applicant/Applicants have not transferred the property to any one earlier nor mortgaged/nor created any charge over the property to be mutated. [c] Swearing that the person to whom the Applicants applied as successor had not transferred the property during his/her life time. 3. Copy of NOC obtained from D.C. in case of transfer of land. [Not applicable in case of prayer of mutation by inheritance]. User charge, if any [in Rupees] Rs. 200/- in urban areas and Rs. 50/- in rural areas. [nil in case of mutation sought by way of inheritance in rural areas.] Eligibility criteria to obtain service Prior to land holder succeeding to any estate whether by transfer or inheritance and obtaining possession of the same, and every joint proprietor or joint land holder assuming charge of a estate or every person assuming charge of any estate of a proprietor or land holder or of any share herein as manager and every mortgagee obtaining possession of any estate of a proprietor or land holder or of any share therein shall within six months from the date of his taking possession or assumption of charge apply to the Deputy Commissioner of the district on the General Registers of which the estate is borne for registration of his name as such land-holder, proprietor, manager or mortgagee and of the nature and extend of the interest in respect of which the application is made. 6. It is settled that when a statute prescribes that an act must be done in a particular manner, it must be performed in that exact manner alone, and not in any other manner. As the application by the petitioner for mutation was not submitted in the prescribed manner, a direction, as sought for in the writ petition, is not called Page No.# 6/6 for. In such view of the matter, this Court finds that this writ petition is not to be entertained. It is accordingly observed. As it is open to the petitioner under the Act, 2012 and in terms of the Notification dated 10.04.2013 to file an on-line application to avail the notified public service, ‘Mutation [Registration]’ in accordance with the procedure laid down therein, the petitioner is at liberty to pursue the said statutory remedy. JUDGE Comparing Assistant