Tahsildar cannot take possession under a resumption order while the appeal remains pending.

The subject land was granted to Byrabhovi in 1961, transferred in 1967, and later purchased by the petitioner under a registered sale deed in 2007

In 2025, resumption proceedings were initiated under the Prohibition of Transfer of Certain Lands Act, 1978. The Assistant Commissioner allowed the resumption claim on 16 April 2026; the petitioner appealed to the Deputy Commissioner and sought interim relief, which remained pending

During the appeal, the Tahsildar issued communications proposing to take possession of the land. The petitioner challenged those communications by writ petition

1. Whether the Tahsildar could proceed to take possession of the subject land while the appeal against the Assistant Commissioner’s resumption order was pending before the Deputy Commissioner

2. Whether the Tahsildar’s communications proposing to take possession were liable to be quashed

The Court considered the resumption proceedings in the context of the Prohibition of Transfer of Certain Lands Act, 1978

It applied the principle that, while an appeal against the resumption order was pending and yet to be decided on its merits, the Tahsildar could not proceed to take possession pursuant to that order; the Court cited no specific statutory provision or precedent for this principle

The Assistant Commissioner’s resumption order was under challenge before the Deputy Commissioner, and the appeal and application for interim relief had not yet been considered

In those circumstances, the Tahsildar had no occasion or justification to take steps to recover possession based on the representation of the grantees’ family members. The Court therefore held that the possession-related communications could not be sustained

It directed the Deputy Commissioner to dispose of the appeal within three months of receiving a certified copy of the order and stayed the operation and effect of the Assistant Commissioner’s order until the appeal was decided