HC issues notice to IAS officer, others over land mutation
JALANDHAR: The Punjab and Haryana high court has issued notice to IAS officer Apneet Riyait (now posted as Hoshiarpur deputy commissioner DC)and former Mansa DC) and her husband, Samrala deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Harinder Singh Mann, in a land mutation case in Mansa.
Justice Ramendra Jain, in a recent order, also stayed further proceedings in the case of property in question on the plea of a rice shellers, Ritu Bala and others, who had claimed that they had a rice sheller unit operating from the property in question. The response has been sought by April 17.
The petitioners had alleged that at the behest of the then Mansa DC and her husband, DSP Harinder Singh Mann, the revenue officials had illegally changed the mutation of the land owned by them, ignoring the existence of the rice sheller building.
As per petitioners, rice sheller unit has been functioning at Dattewas village in Mansa since 2018. They stated that the IAS officer’s in-laws have 19-kanal land at a distance of 1 acre from the disputed land. They started pressuring the petitioners to make them partner in the unit. Later, the then DC directed lower revenue officials to cancel mutation of land after conducting a probe on a “vague complaint”. Later, the SDM Budhlada issued a notice to petitioner under Sections 145 (procedure where dispute concerning land is likely to cause breach of peace) and 146 (power to attach subject of dispute and to appoint receiver) of Code of Criminal Procedure, they alleged.
Petitioners counsel SS Aviraj said, “We pleaded before the court to transfer the case proceedings to any other district in Ropar division and that the respondents be restrained from dispossessing the petitioners’ land.
The court restrained the SDM Budhlada to proceed further in the matter.
The court had also asked chief secretary, Punjab to examine the case and order transfer of the IAS officer, from Mansa, if it is deemed fit. However, Riyait was already transferred to Hoshiarpur from Mansa on February 6.