Revenue court sets Amethi land record straight

A revenue court of Amethi on Wednesday ordered a correction in the revenue records restoring the title of the land at Kauhar village of Amethi to the actual owners — the Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Corporation (UPSIDC) — in place of Samrat Bicycles Limited (the leaseholder).

The Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust (RGCT) had bought the land from the bicycle company in February 2015 through an auction by the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT).

UPSIDC managing director Manoj Singh said the revenue court order would, however, not have any impact on the DRT’s auction of the land to the RGCT.

Union minister for HRD Smriti Irani had questioned the auction of land to RGCT and targeted the Gandhi family for the same.

Sub-divisional magistrate Gauriganj (Amethi) Vandita Srivastava passed the orders for correction of records of the land on Wednesday on a petition that the UPSIDC had filed before the local court.

UPSIDC (regional manager Faizabad) RS Pathak said the corporation had leased out 65-acre land to Samrat Bicycles Limited to set up a factory in 1986. A revenue official, how- ever, allegedly tampered with the records to show that the leaseholder of 65 acre land the Samrat Bicycles Limited was the owner of nearly 204-acre of UPSIDC land, including 65-acre auctioned to RGCT in Amethi.

The records available with the sub-registrar office, Gauriganj, show that the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust (RGCT) had paid Rs 1.50 crore towards stamps duty for the getting the deed executed in respect of the 65.57 acres of the land that was valued at Rs 20 crore.

The sale deed, according to sources, was executed at the sub-registrar office on February 27, 2015. One Rakesh Kumar, a representative of the liquidator appointed by the court had signed the deed as the seller.

The RGCT had bought the land at a composite auction conducted on the court’s order in Delhi on February 24. The auction followed after the Samrat Bicycles Ltd that set up a factory on the land given to it on 90-year lease by the UPSIDC got sick and requested the court to liquidate its liabilities.

UPSIDC MD SAID THE REVENUE COURT ORDER WOULD, HOWEVER, NOT HAVE ANY IMPACT ON THE DRT’S AUCTION OF THE LAND TO THE RGCT.