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REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CIVIL APPEALLATE JURISDICTION    

CIVIL     APPEAL     NO.     6247      OF     2012   (arising out of S.L.P. (Civil) No. 1354/2010)

SEVA LAL                                     Appellant(s)

                VERSUS

SRI KANT & ORS.                               Respondent(s)

J      U      D      G      M      E      N      T   

R.M.     Lodha,      J.   

Leave granted.

2. On May 4, 1992 Naib Tehsildar, Bithoor, Kanpur  

Nagar, allowed the application for mutation made by the  

appellant.  Aggrieved by the order of the Naib Tehsildar,  

the present respondents preferred appeal under Section 210  

of Uttar Pradesh Land Revenue Act, 1901 (for short, 'Act')  

before the Sub Divisional Officer, Kanpur. The Sub  

Divisional Officer by his order dated May 4, 1993 remanded  

the matter to the Naib Tehsildar for fresh consideration  

after giving opportunity to the parties. The appellant felt  

aggrieved by the order dated May 4, 1993 passed by the Sub  

Divisional Officer, Kanpur and preferred revision before  

the Additional Commissioner, Kanpur  Division, under  

Section 218 of the Act. The Additional Commissioner  

dismissed the appellant's revision.

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3. Not satisfied with the order of the Additional  

Commissioner, Kanpur Division, the appellant preferred  

further revision under Section 219 of the Act before the  

Board of Revenue.  The Board of Revenue vide order dated  

24.8.2009/1.9.2009 allowed the revision filed by the  

appellant, set aside the orders of the Additional  

Commissioner and the Sub Divisional Officer and restored  

the order of the Naib Tehsildar passed on May 4, 1992.

4. The present respondents challenged the order of  

the Board of Revenue in a Writ Petition before the  

Allahabad High Court. The Single Judge of the High Court  

has held that second revision preferred by the appellant  

under Section 219 of the Act was not maintainable and,  

accordingly, set aside the order of the Board of Revenue  

and directed the parties to appear before the Naib  

Tehsildar.

5. The appellant preferred the first revision before  

the Additional Commissioner, Kanpur Division, against the  

order dated May 4, 1993 passed by the Sub Divisional  

Officer, Kanpur under Section 218 of the Act. Section 218  

read as under :-

“Section 218.  Reference to the Board. –  The  Commissioner, the Additional Commissioner, the  Collector, the Record Officer or the Settlement  Officer may call for and examine the record of  any case decided or proceedings held by any  officer subordinate to him for the purpose of  satisfying himself as to the legality or

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propriety of the order passed and as to the  regularity of proceedings, and, if he is of  opinion that the proceeding taken or order passed  by such subordinate officer should be varied,  cancelled or reversed, he shall refer the case  with his opinion thereon for the orders of the  Board and the Board shall thereupon pass such  orders as it thinks fit.”

6. As noted above, the Additional Commissioner,  

Kanpur Division, dismissed the appellant revision preferred  

under Section 218 of the Act.  What Section 218 provides is  

that the revisional authority mentioned therein if forms an  

opinion that the order passed by the subordinate officer  

needs to be varied, cancelled or reversed then it has to  

refer the case with its opinion to the Board of Revenue.  

There was no occasion for the Additional Commissioner to  

refer the matter to the Board of Revenue as the appellant's  

revision was dismissed by him. On dismissal of first  

revision by the Additional Commissioner, the appellant  

invoked the power of revision of the Board under Section  

219 of the Act which in 1994 read as under :-

“Section 219. Revision before the Board.–  The  Board may call for the record of any case  decided by any subordinate court, and if the  subordinate court appears- (a) to have exercised a jurisdiction not vested  in it in law; or (b) to have failed to exercise a jurisdiction so  vested; or (c) to have acted in the exercise of  jurisdiction illegally or with material  irregularity,  the Board may pass such order as it thinks

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fit.” 7. There was no provision in Section 219 that was  

existing prior to the amendment in 1997 that if an  

application has been moved by any person either to the  

Board or Commissioner or Additional Commissioner or the  

Collector or the Record Officer or the Settlement Officer,  

no further application by the same person shall be  

entertained by any of them.  Sub-section (2) of Section 219  

to the above effect came to be enacted for the first time  

vide U.P. Land Laws (Amendment) Act, 1997.  The amended  

provision of 1997 has no application to the pending  

revision applications before the Board of Revenue already  

preferred under the then existing Section 219 of the Act.  

In the present case, the appellant has preferred revision  

under Section 219 before the Board of Revenue against the  

order of the Additional Commissioner in 1994.  That  

revision is maintainable in law under unamended Section 219  

of the Act.

8. The view of the High Court is thus clearly wrong  

that the revision application preferred by the appellant  

before the Board of Revenue under Section 219 of the Act  

was not maintainable.

9. Consequently, the Appeal is allowed, the impugned  

order dated November 9, 2009 is set aside and Writ Petition  

No. 59678 of 2009 titled “Srikant and Ors.  Vs.  Board of

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Revenue, U.P., Lucknow and Ors.” is restored to the file of  

the Allahabad High Court for hearing and consideration on  

merits in accordance with law.  No costs.

.........................J.  ( R.M. LODHA )

NEW DELHI; .........................J. SEPTEMBER 3, 2012. ( ANIL R. DAVE )