STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: The Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Saturday registered a case against former revenue officials and a private beneficiary for illegally attesting a land mutation in violation of the Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976, and government guidelines pertaining to the protection of state land.
As per ACB official, the case, registered under FIR No. 03/2025 at Police Station ACB Jammu, names Tarsem Lal, the then Tehsildar Vijaypur, Zassin Malik, the then Patwari of Patwar Halqa Gurha Slathia, and Rameshwar Singh, the alleged beneficiary.
The FIR has been lodged under Section 5(1)(d) read with Section 5(2) of the J&K Prevention of Corruption Act, Svt. 2006, and Section 120-B of the RPC (criminal conspiracy).
“The case was registered on the outcome of a verification conducted by Anti-Corruption Bureau into the allegations that the concerned revenue officer/official, attested illegal mutation no. 1102 (Sehat Kasht Indraj Girdawari) of Village Rajinder Singh Pura, Tehsil Vijaypur, in favour of Rameshwar Singh as tenant (Gair Maroosi), for land measuring 81 Kanals 19 marlas, contrary to the provisions of Agrarian Reforms Act 1976 and guidelines notified in the circulars/notifications by the Govt. pertaining to the protection of state land besides procedure adopted in the proprietary land etc.,” official said.
During verification, official added, it surfaced that the land in some khasra numbers is recorded as state land, but instead of evicting encroacher from state land, the same has been entered in mutation No. 1102 (Sehat Kasht Indraj Girdawari) in order to confer undue benefit to beneficiary.
Similarly, the land in some Khasra numbers is recorded as proprietary land but as per Jamabandi of 1995-96, the aforesaid land in same Khasra numbers are recorded as state land, whereas in mutation no. 1102 dated April 6, 2015 (Sehat Kasht Indraj Girdawari), the land of one Khasra number is entered as proprietary land, the land in other two Khasra numbers is entered as state land. The concerned Patwari has not mentioned these facts in his report in the mutation report in question, official added.
The mutation in question has also been set aside by Divisional Commissioner Jammu to the extent of illegal entries made in respect of state land with further direction for correction of same thereby authenticated the violations made by concerned revenue officer/official in this regard by conferring undue benefits to the beneficiary, official said adding that further investigation of the instant case is going on.