Musstt. Ranima Begum And 2 Ors vs The State Of Assam And 7 Ors

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GAHC010197452025

2026:GAU-AS:12494
THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT
(HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH)
Case No. : WP(C)/5135/2025
MUSSTT. RANIMA BEGUM AND 2 ORS
W/O- LATE NURUL ISLAM, R/O- HOUSE NO. 190, F.A. ROAD, KUMARPARA,
P.S. BHARALUMUKH, DIST. KAMRUP METRO, ASSAM, PIN- 781009.
2: MD. AMAN ISLAM
S/O- LATE NURUL ISLAM
R/O- HOUSE NO. 190
F.A. ROAD
KUMARPARA
P.S. BHARALUMUKH
DIST. KAMRUP METRO
ASSAM
PIN- 781009.
3: LIZA RAHMAN
D/O- LATE NURUL ISLAM
W/O- ARMAN KHAN
R/O- KACHARIGAON
TEZPUR
SONITPUR
ASSAM
PIN- 784001
VERSUS
THE STATE OF ASSAM AND 7 ORS
REPRESENTED BY THE COMMISSIONER AND SECRETARY TO THE GOVT.
OF ASSAM, REVENUE DEPARTMENT, DISPUR, GUWAHATI-06, ASSAM
2:THE DISTRICT COMMISSIONER
KAMRUP METRO
GUWAHATI
DIST. KAMRUP METRO
ASSAM

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PIN- 781036.
3:ADDL. DISTRICT COMMISSIONER
KAMRUP METRO
GUWAHATI
DIST. KAMRUP METRO
ASSAM
PIPN- 781036
4:THE SETTLEMENT OFFICER
KAMRUP METRO
GUWAHATI
DIST. KAMRUP METRO
ASSAM
5:THE ASSISTANT SETTLEMENT OFFICER
DISPUR REVENUE CIRCLE
KAMRUP METRO
DIST. KAMRUP METRO
ASSAM
6:ON THE DEATH OF KAMALA DEVI
HER LEGAL HEIRS SUNIL KUMAR SARAWGI
S/O- LATE NEMI CHAND SARAWGI
R/O- BULBUL MARKET
5TH FLOOR
FANCY BAZAR
P.O. AND P.S. FANCY BAZAR
DIST. KAMRUP METRO
ASSAM
PIN- 781001.
7:SURENDRA KR. SARAWGI
S/O- LATE NEMI CHAND SARAWGI
R/O- BULBUL MARKET
5TH FLOOR
FANCY BAZAR
P.O. AND P.S. FANCY BAZAR
DIST. KAMRUP METRO
ASSAM
PIN- 781001.
8:VIKAS KAMAL SARAWGI
S/O- LATE NEMI CHAND SARAWGI
R/O- BULBUL MARKET
5TH FLOOR
FANCY BAZAR

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P.O. AND P.S. FANCY BAZAR
DIST. KAMRUP METRO
ASSAM
PIN- 781001


BEFORE
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DEVASHIS BARUAH
For the Petitioner(s) : Ms. R. Choudhury, Sr. Advocate
Mr. Z. Hussain, Advocate

For the Respondent(s) : Mr. M.K. Choudhury, Sr. Advocate
Mr. H. Sarma, Addl. Sr. Govt. Advocate
Ms. G. Hazarika, Standing Counsel
Mr. S. Khound, Advocate


· Date on which Judgment was reserved : N/A
· Date of Pronouncement of Judgment : 26.08.2026
Whether the pronouncement is of
·
the Operative Part of the Judgment : No

· Whether the full Judgment has been
Pronounced : Yes
JUDGMENT AND ORDER (ORAL)
Heard Ms. R. Choudhury, the learned Senior Counsel assisted by
Mr. Z. Hussain, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the
Petitioners. Ms. G. Hazarika, the learned Standing Counsel,
Revenue Department appears on behalf of the Respondent No. 1;

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Mr. H. Sarma, the learned Additional Senior Government Advocate
appears on behalf of the Respondent Nos. 2 to 5; and Mr. M. K.
Choudhury, the learned Senior Counsel assisted by Mr. S. Khound,
the learned counsel appears on behalf of the Respondent Nos. 6 to
8.
2. The present writ petition has been filed by the Petitioners
assailing the judgment dated 31.12.2020 passed by the learned
Assam Board of Revenue in Case No. RA No. 09(K)/2019 and the
subsequent order dated 26.06.2025 rejecting the review
application which was registered and numbered as Case No.
3RA(K)(RVW)/2021.
3. The Petitioners herein claim to be the owners of a plot of land
admeasuring 2 Bighas 3 Lechas covered by Dag No.
916(Old)/402(New) under Village No. 2, Japorigog Gaon, Lot No. 4
under Beltola Mouza in the district of Kamrup (Metro), Assam.
4. It is the case of the Petitioners that the said land was
originally owned by one Hafizan Nessa. The predecessor of the
Petitioners, namely, Md. Nurul Islam (since deceased) was the
grandson of late Hafizan Nessa and applied for correction of the
revenue records before the Circle Officer, Dispur Revenue Circle

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seeking deletion of the name of one Kamala Devi Sarawgi, the
predecessor of the Respondent Nos. 6 to 8 in the present
proceedings. The said application was registered and numbered as
Misc. Case No. 655/2014.
5. On 07.01.2014, the Circle Officer passed an order and
forwarded the same to the Deputy Commissioner for due
information and for taking necessary action to record the names of
the legal heirs of the original pattadars in the revenue records. In
the meantime, one Nurul Hoque claiming himself to be the legal
heir of late Hafizan Nessa filed another application before the
Deputy Commissioner, Kamrup (Metro) for recording his name in
place of late Hafizan Nessa which was registered and numbered as
Misc. Case No. 41/2016.
6. The Office of the Deputy Commissioner upon receipt of the
order dated 07.01.2014 passed by the Circle Officer, Dispur
Revenue Circle took into consideration both KRC(M) Case No.
41/2016 and KRC(M) Case No. 66/2014 and passed an order on
18.12.2018 thereby striking out the name of late Kamala Devi
Sarawgi.
7. It is relevant to take note of that during the pendency of the

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proceedings before the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Kamrup
(Metro) in connection with KRC(M) Case No. 41/2016 and KRC(M)
Case No. 66/2014, the latter which was filed by late Nurul Islam, it
was duly informed to the Additional Deputy Commissioner that
Nurul Islam had expired and that he was being represented by his
wife, i.e., the Petitioner No. 1 herein.
8. Late Kamala Devi Sarawgi, being aggrieved by the order dated
18.12.2018 filed an Appeal before the learned Assam Board of
Revenue which was registered and numbered as Case No. RA No.
09(K)/2019. It is, however, pertinent to observe that in the said
Appeal, the applicants in KRC(M) Case No. 41/2016, i.e. Nurul
Hoque, and KRC(M) Case No. 66/2014, i.e. Nurul Islam were
arrayed as the Respondents. This was done without taking into
consideration the fact that Nurul Islam had expired during the
pendency of the proceedings before the Additional Deputy
Commissioner and that the same was duly reflected in the order
dated 18.12.2018 passed by the Additional Deputy Commissioner.
9. It is relevant to take note of that an application was filed in
the said Appeal proceedings before the learned Assam Board of
Revenue seeking substitution of late Nurul Islam by the Petitioners.
Though, the question of substitution did not arise but the said

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application ought to have been treated as an application seeking
impleadment. The said application was rejected by the learned
Assam Board of Revenue and the Appeal was proceeded with
without hearing the legal representatives of late Nurul Islam. The
learned Assam Board of Revenue passed the judgment dated
31.12.2020.
10. At this stage, this Court finds it pertinent to observe that the
Appeal filed by late Kamala Devi Sarawgi could not have been
adjudicated inasmuch as on the date on which the Appeal was
presented, one of the Respondents, i.e., late Nurul Islam had
already expired.
11. Be that as it may, vide the impugned judgment dated
31.12.2020 passed by the learned Assam Board of Revenue, the
order dated 18.12.2018 passed by the Additional Deputy
Commissioner was set aside.
12. The Petitioners herein thereafter also made an attempt by
filing a review application which was registered and numbered as
Review Case No. 3RA(K)(RVW)/2021. The said review application
was also rejected vide order dated 26.06.2025 and it is under such
circumstances that the present writ petition has been filed.

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13. This Court has heard the learned Senior Counsels appearing
on behalf of the Petitioners as well as the Respondent Nos. 6, 7
and 8. In addition to that, the Revenue Department as well as the
District Administration have also been duly heard.
14. The sole question which arises in the instant proceedings is
whether the learned Assam Board of Revenue could have
proceeded with the Appeal against a dead person.
15. From a perusal of the order dated 18.12.2018, it is apparent
that late Nurul Islam expired during the pendency of the
proceedings before the learned Additional Deputy Commissioner.
This aspect is further apparent from the death certificate issued by
the Department of Health Services wherein it is mentioned that
Nurul Islam expired on 19.10.2016. Therefore, the filing of the
Appeal against the dead person in whose favour the order dated
18.12.2018 was passed was apparently an invalid Appeal, which
the learned Assam Board of Revenue could not have proceeded
with. The impugned judgment so passed by the learned Assam
Board of Revenue dated 31.12.2020 was a nullity.
16. It is the further opinion of this Court that when the Petitioners
approached the learned Assam Board of Revenue seeking

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substitution, the learned Assam Board of Revenue ought to have at
least impleaded the Petitioners to cure the defect. However, the
learned Assam Board of Revenue continued with the Appeal in
spite of having due knowledge that the Respondent No. 2 in the
said Appeal had expired. Under such circumstances, the judgment
dated 31.12.2020 passed by the learned Assam Board of Revenue
in the opinion of this Court is a nonest judgment.
17. It is also relevant to take note of that even after filing the
review application, the learned Assam Board of Revenue did not
consider it necessary to cure the defect by reviewing the judgment
dated 31.12.2020.
18. Considering the above, this Court therefore disposes of the
instant writ petition with the following observations and directions:
(i) The impugned judgment dated 31.12.2020 passed in Case
No. RA No. 09(K)/2019 is declared to be nonest and is
accordingly set aside and quashed. Accordingly, the order
dated 18.12.2018 passed by the Additional Deputy
Commissioner in KRC(M) Case No. 41/2016 and KRC(M) Case
No. 66/2014 stands revived.
(ii) The Appeal being Case No. RA No. 09(K)/2019 is restored

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to the file of the learned Assam Board of Revenue.
(iii) The application filed by the Petitioners on 02.04.2019
(Page No. 285 of the records) under Order I Rule 10(2) of the
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 which was rejected vide the
impugned judgment dated 31.12.2020 is restored to the file
of the learned Assam Board of Revenue.
(iv) This Court directs the learned Assam Board of Revenue to
pass appropriate orders on the said application thereby
impleading the Petitioners herein who were the applicants in
the said application, as parties in the said Appeal being Case
No. RA No. 09(K)/2019.
(v) It is also relevant to take note of that in the meantime,
the original appellant, late Kamala Devi Sarawgi has expired
and the said appellant has to be substituted.
(vi) Liberty is given to the Respondent Nos. 6, 7 and 8 in the
instant proceedings to file an appropriate application in terms
with Rule 19 of the Assam Board of Revenue Regulations,
1963.
(vii) Taking into account that the parties are duly represented,

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they are directed to appear before the learned Assam Board
of Revenue on 30.09.2026.
(viii) In the meantime, the Registry shall return the records to
the learned Assam Board of Revenue forthwith, ensuring that
the said records are available before the learned Assam Board
of Revenue on the date fixed hereinabove.
JUDGE
Digitally signed by Satyam Sharma
Date: 2026.08.28 22:39:39 +05'30'
Comparing Assistant