Nirupam Das and Anr v. The State of Assam and 8 Ors

ORDER Date : 01-05-2024

Heard Mr. R. Mazumdar, learned counsel for the petitioners and Ms. PR Mahanta, learned standing counsel for the Revenue Department appearing for the respondent no.1 and Ms. S. Sarma, learned Govt. Advocate appearing for the respondent nos.2, 3, 4 and 5 and Mr. S. Dutta, learned senior counsel assisted by Mr. S. Dutta, appears for the respondent no.6.

¶2The case of the petitioners is that their mother who is arrayed as respondent no.7, is aged about 78 years and is suffering from various old age ailments including neurological ailments. It is projected that she is unable to speak, read or write and is incapable of giving her free consent.

¶3It appears from the statements made in this writ petition that there is a family dispute between the petitioners and the respondent no.8 and it is also projected that their mother is presently residing with respondent nos.8 and 9 and it is also alleged that the respondent no.8 is not permitting the petitioners to meet their mother.

¶4It is projected that a land sale permission has been applied for in Page No.# 4/5 respect of the immovable property standing in the name of the respondent no.7. Although objection was filed by the petitioners, the Addl. District Commissioner, Cachar (Revenue Branch, Sadar, NOC Section), Silchar had rejected the objection by order dated 18.01.2024. The said order has been assailed in this writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

¶5From the above brief facts the existence of disputed questions of facts is disclosed and it also appears that there is dispute between the members of the family. Under such circumstances, the Court is disinclined to entertain this writ petition as the petitioners have an alternative remedy of approaching the Civil Court.

¶6The learned counsel for the petitioners has submitted that at least the Court can issue a direction for assessment of the mental health of the respondent no.7.

¶7In this regard, the Court is of the considered opinion that the materials available in the writ petition are insufficient for the Court to prima facie record its satisfaction that an inquiry is required to assess the mental health of the respondent no.7. If the petitioners have any apprehension of such nature, the petitioners may be well advised to approach the competent authority under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 or under the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 or any other law in force.

¶8The learned Govt. Advocate has submitted upon instructions that under section 7(1) of the provisions of the said Act of 2007, a Maintenance Page No.# 5/5 Tribunal and Appellate Tribunal has been notified by the Govt. Of Assam vide notification issued on 02.08.2008 and that the District Social Welfare Officers in the State of Assam has been notified as Maintenance Officers. If so advised, the petitioners shall explore as to the desire to avail such remedy as provided under the said aforesaid Act.

¶9We record our appreciation for Mr. H. Sarma, learned Addl. Senior Govt. Advocate who is present in Court for having the notification dated

02.08.2008 readily available for the perusal of the Court.

¶10With the said observations and liberty as granted above, this writ petition stands closed.

JUDGE Comparing Assistant

PageoNo.#o1/5 GAHC010081612024 ooooooo ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oWP(C)/2256/2024o NIRUPAMoDASoANDoANRo SONoOFoLATEoNITISHoRANJANoDASoANDoSMTIoKANAKLATAoDAS,o RESIDENToOFoNOBAoKUTIR,oTIKORoBASTIoHOUSEoNO.34,oSILCHARoTOWN,o WARDoNO.o25,oP.O.oANDoP.S.oSILCHAR,oDISTRICT-oCACHAR,oASSAM 2:oSRIoANUPAMoDAS oSONoOFoLATEoNITISHoRANJANoDASoANDoSMTIoKANAKLATAoDAS oRESIDENToOFoNOBAoKUTIR oTIKORoBASTIoHOUSEoNO.34 oSILCHARoTOWN oWARDoNO.o25 oP.O.oANDoP.S.oSILCHAR oDISTRICT-oCACHAR oASSAo VERSUSo THEoSTATEoOFoASSAMoANDo8oORSo THROUGHoTHEoSECRETARY,oTOoTHEoGOVERNMENToOFoASSAM,oREVENUE ANDoDISASTERoMANAGEMENToDEPARTMENT,oDISPUR,oGUWAHATI-o 781006 2:THEoDISTRICToCOMMISSIONER oCACHARo(REVENUEoBRANCH oNOCoSECTION)oSILCHAR oDISTRICToCACHAR oASSAM 3:THEoADDITIONALoDISTRICToCOMMISSIONER o(REVENUEoBRANCH oSADAR oNOCoSECTION) oCACHAR oSILCHAR PageoNo.#o2/5 oDISTRICToCACHAR oASSAM oPINoCODE-o788001 4:THEoASSISTANToSETTLEMENToOFFICER oSILCHARoSADAR oP.O.oANDoP.S.oSILCHAR oDISTRICToCACHAR oASSAM oPINoCODE-o788001 5:THEoDEPUTYoREGISTRAR oCACHAR oSILCHAR oDISTRICToCACHAR oASSAM oPINoCODE-o788001 6:THEoSILCHARoMUNICIPALoBOARD oREPRESENTEDoBYoITSoEXECUTIVEoOFFICER oSILCHAR oDISTRICT-oCACHAR oASSAM oPINoCODE-o788001 7:SMTIoKANAKLATAoDAS oW/O-oLATEoNITISHoRANJANoDAS oRESIDENToOFoNABAoKUTIRoTIKORoBASTIoHOUSEoNO.o34oSILCHARoTOWN oWARDoNO.o25 oP.O.oANDoP.S.oSILCHAR oDISTRICT-oCACHAR oASSAM 8:SMTIoJOYEETAoDAS oW/O-oSRIoANUPAMoDAS oRESIDENToOFoNABAoKUTIRoTIKORoBASTIoHOUSEoNO.o34oSILCHARoTOWN oWARDoNO.o25 oP.O.oANDoP.S.oSILCHAR oDISTRICT-oCACHAR oASSAM 9:SRIoANURAGoDAS oS/O-oSRIoANUPAMoDAS oRESIDENToOFoNABAoKUTIRoTIKORoBASTIoHOUSEoNO.o34oSILCHARoTOWN oWARDoNO.o25 oP.O.oANDoP.S.oSILCHAR oDISTRICT-oCACHAR oASSAo Page No.# 3/5 Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. R MAJUMDAR Advocate for the Respondent : SC, REVENUE BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE KALYAN RAI SURANA