SC: Revenue Map Correction Cannot Reopen Settled Disputes Under UP Revenue Code

Suvej Singh Vs Ram Naresh And Ors. (Supreme Court of India)

The Supreme Court allowed the appeal challenging the Allahabad High Court’s order, which had set aside the orders of the revenue authorities and remanded the matter for fresh consideration regarding correction of a revenue map under Sections 30 and 38 of the Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code, 2006.

The dispute related to Plot No.22. The private respondents had initially sought correction of the revenue map before the Collector, whose application was dismissed on 27.05.1998 after considering the Commissioner’s report showing that the appellant was in possession of Plot Nos.22/1 and 22/2, while the private respondents were in possession of Plot No.22/3. The Additional Commissioner dismissed the appeal on 04.09.2001, thereby affirming that there was no error in the revenue map and that the private respondents were effectively seeking a different location for their plot. The order attained finality.

More than seventeen years later, after the Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code, 2006 came into force, the private respondents again applied under Sections 30 and 38 seeking correction of the same revenue map. The application was rejected by the competent authority on 15.01.2020 after considering a fresh report of the Naib Tehsildar and holding that the issue had already been settled in the earlier proceedings. The appellate authority affirmed this view on 25.04.2023, observing that there was no justification to reopen a matter settled long ago. The High Court, however, set aside both orders and remanded the matter for fresh consideration after granting an opportunity of hearing to the parties.