The Bombay High Court issued notice on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed regarding various illegalities committed by some officers of the respondents which amounted to embezzling government money by manipulating and changing the revenue record.
The Nagpur Division Bench of Justice Sunil B. Shukre and Justice G. A. Sanap noted that one of the instances pointed out by the counsel for the petitioners is that in case of at least five properties, the initial survey report shows that there were no constructions whatsoever made on those properties but, after Section 19 notification was issued, the constructions were made by those owners just to obtain more compensation from the government and they also succeeded in doing so, as some of the Revenue Officers actively assisted these persons in scoring out some entries in the revenue record, manipulating revenue record, creating new record and also getting the properties resurveyed.
All these illegalities are apparent from the face of the record and in support of his contentions, the counsel for the petitioners has taken us through the various important documents filed by the petitioner along with the petition and observed the Bench.
Upon consideration of the documents placed on record and the contentions so raised, the bench is inclined to issue a notice in the matter, as this is something which requires cognizance to be taken by the High Court in the interest of public cause being espoused by the petitioners.
When the Court asked the counsel for the petitioners, as to whether or not the petitioners have filed any reference application seeking enhancement of the compensation granted to them, the learned counsel for the petitioners, on instructions, replied that some of the petitioners have indeed filed reference applications but, he also have instructions to inform the High Court that these petitioners would now withdraw those reference applications in the larger public interest. The statement so made on behalf of the petitioners, on instructions, is accepted and the Bench believes that by the next date, all those reference applications filed by the petitioners would have been withdrawn by them.