ORAL ORDER
1. Draft amendment granted.
2. This petition is challenging the order dated 16.04.2019 passed by the Special Secretary, Revenue Department. Before the Secretary, under challenge was the order passed by the Collector, Surendranagar dated 11.09.2018 by which the application of the petitioner was rejected.
3. The land in question is of the village Rajgadh, Dhrangadhra of survey no. 444 paiki 2 gunthas. The land was alloted to one Bahadurbhai Virjibhai. By an order of 1983, it was found that the allottee of the land had not taken over possession under the pretext of it being non-cultivable. The order of 1983 therefore vested the land in the government. The petitioner against this order filed an appeal before the
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Collector, who by the order so confirmed by the Secretary dated 11.09.2018 rejected the appeal. Hence the petitioner was constrained to approach the Special Secretary.
3. Mr. Vicky Mehta, learned advocate for the petitioner would contend that a separate application for condonation of delay was preferred before the Collector, without taking into consideration the same, the Collector heard the appeal on merits. Inviting my attention to the order dated 29.06.1983 which was under challenge before the Collector, the contention is that the petitioner was not even served with the notice.
4. On a perusal of the order of Collector, the submissions made by learned advocate for the petitioner that no notice was served under Section 135D of the Gujarat Land Revenue Code, appears to be an afterthought. The Special Secretary has confirmed the order of the Collector on the ground that the appeal was filed 35 years after the land vested in the government.
5. Finding no fault with the order passed by the authorities below, this petition is dismissed.
(BIREN VAISHNAV, J)
DIVYA
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