No third-party interest may be created in disputed surplus land pending the Revenue Secretary’s decision.

The petitioner, a resident of Village Basantpur, Haldwani, alleged that land declared surplus in ceiling proceedings against M/s Keshar Sugar Works had vested in the State under the U.P. Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1960, but was later transferred to private persons through sale deeds executed on 21 April 2011 and registered on 24 April 2011.

He sought an investigation, cancellation of the sale deeds, proceedings against the officials and private persons allegedly involved, and allotment of the land for public purposes.

The Court noted the petitioner’s assertion that the surplus-land determination had attained finality.

1. Whether the petitioner’s allegations concerning the transfer of land allegedly vested in the State warranted directions for investigation, cancellation of the sale deeds, and proceedings against the persons involved.

2. Whether the dispute should be considered by the Secretary, Department of Revenue, upon a representation supported by the relevant ceiling-proceedings records.

The judgment identifies no statutory provision or precedent as the basis for its directions.

The petitioner relied on the U.P. Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1960, and orders made in the related ceiling proceedings; the Court did not determine the Act’s application or decide the land’s legal status.

Instead, it directed that the petitioner may submit a representation with supporting documents, that persons likely to be affected be heard before a decision is made, and that the land’s status be preserved pending that decision.

In view of the allegations that land declared surplus and vested in the State had been transferred to private persons, the Court considered it appropriate for the Revenue Secretary to examine the matter on the basis of the relevant records, rather than decide the factual and legal disputes in the PIL.

Requiring supporting documents and an opportunity for affected persons to be heard provided for consideration of the competing claims; the interim restraint on creating third-party interests and registering any sale deed was directed to preserve the position until the Secretary’s decision.

The Secretary was directed to decide the representation within nine months thereafter, after hearing persons likely to be affected.

Until that decision, no third-party interest was to be created in the land, and the District Magistrate, Nainital, was to ensure that no sale deed concerning it was registered.