P L D 1970 Dacca 433 (PLP)

SIDDIQI, C. J.‑--This is an application under Article 98 of the Constitution by one Sasanka Lal Banik who has described himself in the body of the petition as a nominated member of the Sitakund Shrine Committee. The petitioner's case is that there is a temple called the Chandra Nath temple on the top of a hill in the Sitakund range about 20 miles away from Chittagong town. In and around this Chandra Nath temple, there are said to be other temples, located on the top of other hillocks, known as Birupaksha temple, Swayambhu Nath temple. Unokutishib etc. It is said, that the Chandra Nath temple is on the top of the hill which has come to be known as the Chandra Nath Hill is an elevation of more than 1100 ft. from the sea level and this is one of the 51 Pithasthans of the Hindus. The temple itself was constructed by the Maharajah of Tripura sometime in the last quarter of the last century. It is claimed by the petitioner that the hill top on which the Chandra Nath temple stands and the pathway leading to the temple from the ground belong‑, to the temple Chandra Nath and these two respective plots of lands namely, Plot No. 4084 of the Cadestral Survey which has been renumbered as Plot No. 181 in the Revisional Survey and Plot No. 4097 of the Cadestral Survey renumbered as Plot No. 182 of the Revisional Survey records, have been recorded in the name of the deity Chandra Nath and as such these two plots are in the exclusive ownership and posses sion of the deity Chandra Nath. It is the further case of the petitioner that the said Chandra Nath Shrine along with the other temples around it is under the management of a Shrine Committee constituted by the District Judge, Chittagong in terms of a scheme framed by the High Court of Calcutta in the year 1947, in Civil Rule No. 1586(F) of 1945 arising out of First Miscel laneous Appeal No. 200 of 1942. According to the said scheme, the Shrine committee is composed of 10 members of which at the present moment Mr. P. M. Dam, a Subordinate Judge at Chittagong, is the President, and Mr. Satish Chandra Dey, an Advocate of Chittagong, is the Secretary. The District Judge of Chittagong has the ultimate control over this Shrine Committee. The petitioner further alleged that the Shrine Committee is inactive and does not take any interest in the maintenance and management of the Shrine, and the Mahunta of the Chandra Nath temple, who used to perform the day‑to‑day executive acts on behalf of the Shrine Committee having migrated to India, only pujas are performed by the local priests attached to the different temples. It is then said that about a year before the filing of this petition which was sworn on the 12th of August 1968, a proposal on behalf of the Telegraph and Telephone Department of the Government of Pakistan was submitted to the aforesaid Shrine Committee for acquisition of '08 acre of land out of R. S. Plot No. 181 on which the temple Chandra Nath stands for the purpose of establishing the Micro‑Wave Relay Station. According to the petitioner, the Shrine Committee, on receipt of this proposal from the Telegraph and Telephone Department, refused to agree to the setting up of a Micro‑Wave Relay Station on the hill commonly known as the Chandra Nath Hill. Thereafter, it is said that the Telegraph and Telephone Department, having failed to secure the approval of the Shrine Committee, gave up the idea of setting up a Micro‑Wave Relay Station on the aforesaid hill top and the petitioner and other Hindus understood that the Telegraph and Telephone Department, in deference to the feelings of the Hindu community, had given up the idea of setting up the proposed Station on the Chandra Nath Hill. But a few days before the filing of the petition, some officers of the Telegraph and Telephone Department were found on the Chandra Nath Hill in company of certain labourers cutting earth and levelling the top of the hill in a portion, and on being asked, the officers of the Telegraph and Telephone Department gave out that a Micro wave Relay Station was going to be set up on the hill top, and being questioned with regard to permission or approval from any quarter, the officers gave out that the hill belongs to the Govern ment and as such there was no question of approval of permission to be obtained from any quarter. Then it is said that, despite the protest made to the officers, the Telegraph and Telephone Department is continuing construction of structures for housing a Micro‑Wave Relay Station, and the Shrine Committee has been taking no steps to vindicate the rights of the Committee and of the Hindu Public in general in stopping the setting up of the Micro‑Wave Relay Station on the Chandra Nath Hill. Respondents Nos. 2 and 3 filed an affidavit‑in‑opposition on the 1st of October 1968 and a supplementary affidavit‑in‑opposition on the 21st of October 1968. In these affidavit‑in‑Opposition, it is stated that the land in question, on which a Micro‑Wave Relay Station is being set up, was handed over to the Telegraph‑ and Telephone Department on 2‑11‑67 by the District Authorities of Chittagong as per requirements of the Telegraph, and Telephone Department for the setting up of a Micro‑Wave Relay Station, and the construction work was started immediately and the roof of the ground floor building of the Station was laid sometime in March 1968. They have denied categorically that the officers of the Telephone Department started levelling the ground a few days before the 12th of August 1968, as alleged by the petitioner. A photostat copy of the possession certificate granted by the officers concerned has been appended to the affidavit‑in‑opposition which shows that the possession of the land was given by the District Authorities to the Telegraph and Telephone Department on 2‑11‑

67. It is further asserted that the construction of the building is almost complete and it has been so done within the area allotted to the Department by the District Authorities which is away from the Chandra Nath temple. In the supplementary affidavit‑in‑opposition filed on the 21st of October 1.968, it has been asserted that the Micro‑Wave Relay Station being set up at Sitakund is a Repeater between Begumganj and Chittagong and lies on the main Micro‑Wave System of Chittagong‑Dacca‑Khulna. 1t is further said that for the setting up of this Micro‑Wave Relay Station no other place was found suitable in and around Sitakund Hills except the topmost hill on which it is now being set up. It is said by the respondents that a very small portion of the land of the Chandra Nath Hill was taken to meet the requirements of the Department, and the setting up of the Micro‑Wave Relay Station on the allotted area does not in any way inconvenience any of the pilgrims to the Chandra Nath temple and the Station does not reduce the space on the hill top for use of the pilgrims except for an area of 15 ft. by 24 ft. by 18 ft. by 37 ft. It is further stated by the respondents that as a result of the setting up of the Micro‑Wave Relay Station on the Chandra Nath Hill, water connection and power connection will be taken on the hill top which will ultimately benefit the Hindu Pilgrims who visit the shrines in that locality. Further, it will also provide an additional facility to the pilgrims when the jeepable approach road up to the hill top will be constructed. It has been denied in the affidavit‑in‑opposition that the land on which the Chandra Nath temple stands and/or the Chandra Nath Hill or for that matter any of the hills around it on which other temples stand are Debutter properties. It is claimed that the entire land in that area belongs to the Govern ment as will be evident from the Record‑of‑Rights appended to the petition of the petitioners as well as Annexure `A' to the petition which is a Notification being No. 1556 dated 19th March 1903, issued by the Lieutenant‑Governor of Bengal under sec tion 25 of the Indian Forest Act. The point at issue in this case, as we can see it, is: Whether the top of the Chandra Nath Hill, or for that matter any part thereof, is either a Debutter property or vests in the deity Chandra Nath, which would make the land in question to be a non‑acquir able land by the Government? Here we may mention that this application is not against an order made by the Government under the East Bengal (Emergency) Requisition of Property Act, 1948 or under any other law for the time being in force. The notification issued by the Lieutenant‑Governor of Bengal in 1903, referred to above, can be well understood if we make a reference to another notification made by the Lieutenant- Governor on the same date on the 5th of August 1901, the Lieutenant‑Governor of Bengal issued Notification No. 3031 under section 19 of the Indian Forest Act declaring the entire Sitakund ranges and forests in Monza Sitakund as reserved forests of the Government. On the 19th of March 1903, the Lieutenant‑Governor issued another notification being No. 1555 by which he declared that the area declared as reserved forest under Notification No. 3001 dated 5‑8‑1901 shall cease to be a reserved forest with effect from the 19th of March 1903. By Notification No. 15 16 of even date, the Lieutenant‑Governor promulgated certain rules to have effect in the southern Sitakund reserved forest of the Chittagong District. Notifications Nos. 1555 and 1556 dated 19th March 1903, are quoted below in extenso:‑ "REVENUE DEPARTMENT NOTIFICATIONS No. 1555 for‑The 19th March 1903. The Lieutenant -Governor of Bengal, with the previous sanction of the Governor- General‑in‑Council, is hereby pleased to declare, under the provisions of section 26 of the Indian Forest Act, that the area specified below which, in Notification No. 3001. For, dated the 5th August 1901, was declared to be Reserved Forest under section 19 of that Act, shall cease to be a Reserved Forest with effect from the date of this notification: Name of reserve or portion of reserve dis‑forested District Pargona or Sub‑ division Monza Area in acres Southern Sitakund Chittagong Sadar Sub‑ Division Sitakund 640 Boundaries North.

‑The Jainmara Stream to the main Sitakund ridge; then northwards along that ridge; then for about half a mile along the Jainmara Spur. East.

‑A demarcated straight line running in a south easterly direction from the Jainmara Spur to the Sitakund Spur. South.‑

The Sitakund Spur to the main Sitakund ridge; then southwards along that ridge; then along a demarcated straight line to the head of the Gourgari Stream, and along this stream. West.‑

The eastern boundary of village Mahadebpur till it meets the south‑western corner of the burning grounds near Byaskunda (Shasankhola) of the Sitakund Shrines thence in a straight line to where the Shubhaga stream flowing to the south of the temple, Shambhunath takes a northern bend; thence along the left bank of that stream to where it approaches nearest to the flight of steps going up the Chandra Nath Hill; thencealong that southern side of the flight of steps to the main Sitakund ridge; thence southward round the base of the hill on which the Chandra Nath Temple stands to the Pathalpuri pathway; thence along that pathway to where it meets the mandakini stream; thence along that stream to where it meets survey Plot No. 4082; thence westwards along the northern boundaries of survey Plots Nos. 4082 and 4089 (Unkuti Shiberbari) till it meets the Kurkari stream, thence along that stream till it meets the eastern boundary at Mouza Sitakund; thence along that boundary to the Jainmara stream. Brief description.‑A sparsely timbered area containing chiefly small trees and shrubs suitable for firewood and inter sected by open grass lands. Reasons for disforestation.‑To avoid hurting the religious feelings of pilgrims to the Chandra Nath Shrines. No. 1556 For‑The 19th March 1903. In exercise of the powers conferred by section 25 of the Indian Forest Act (Act VII of 1878, as amended by Act V of 1890), the Lieutenant‑Governor is pleased to make the following rules to have effect in Southern Sitakund reserved forest of the Chittagong district:‑ Hindu devotees and pilgrims to the shrines in the Southern Sitakund forests shall be allowed the following privileges (a) to kindle or carry fire, provided that due care is taken to prevent injury to the forest being caused thereby owing to negligence or to leaving any fire burning in the forest. (b) to collect fruits and firewood for their own use and con sumption, but not for barter or sale." Chandra Nath Temple stands on Plot No. 4084 of Cadestral Survey Records which is Plot No. 181 under the Revisional Survey Record and this plot was recorded in the name of Queen Empress of India, and in the C. S. Records, in the column of possession, it was shown to be in the possession of the Queen Empress. The area of Plot No. 4084 has been shown in the C. S. Record as 24 acre. In the R. S. Record the area is '36 acre. The second column of the R. S. Records which is for the purpose of mentioning the name of the superior landlord as well as of the possessor shows King‑Emperor, and in the column which mentions the right and description it is written "Mahal Nayabad Khas Mahal Sadar" and, on behalf of King‑Emperor, Collector, Chittagong, and in the column "Status of the right" it is shown as "Maliki". On the reverse of this R. S. Record, in the column "description of the land" 181 has been shown to be "Debalaya" and 182 as "path", and in the remarks column 181 is mentioned as "Chandra Nath Mandir for public use" and against 182 in the same column it is mentioned "the steps of Chandra Nath Mandir for public use". In this R. S. Record the area of 182 is shown as 14 acre. The C. S. Record was prepared, as stated by the learned Advocate for the petitioner, sometime in 1890s. From the relevant two notifications of 1903, quoted above, and the records‑of‑rights both of the Cadestral Survey and the Revisional Survey, it seems to us to be clear that the land on which the Chandra N ath Temple stands in the Sitakund Hills is khas land of the Government and the same has not been settled with any individual or any deity whatsoever. Had the petitioner's case been true that the Chandra Nath Hill is a debutter property or belongs to the deity Chandra Nath, then there was no reason for the Cadestral Survey Authorities or the Revisional Survey Authorities in 1890s and 1930s not to have mentioned this hill or these two plots to be either debutter or to have belonged to the deity Chandra Nath. Instead, from the notifications of 1903, it seems to us to be very clear that the lands were Government khas lands and were so treated by the Government throughout. After declaring this area to be reserved forest in 1901, the Lieutenant‑Governor, possibly because of some representation on behalf of the Hindus, was pleased to take it out of the category of reserved forest to facilitate the approach to the temples by the Hindu pilgrims because no one is allowed to enter the reserved forest without a permit. Had this area been kept as a reserved forest, that would have certainly created obstacles in the way of the Hindu pilgrims' visits to the different temples, and even when this area was out of the category of reserved forest, the Lieutenant‑Governor had to promulgate certain rules for the guidance of the Hindu pilgrims to the Chandra Nath Temple and other temples. From the two rules found appended to Notification No. 1556 dated 19th March 1903, it becomes abundantly clear that no right of ownership vested, in regard to these hills and specially to plot 181 or plot 182 or for that matter any other plot on which other temples stand, in any person or deity other than the Crown. Had it been the case that this plot 182 belonged to the deity Chandra Nath either as a debutter property which it could not be because no private individual could have made a debutter of a Government khas land, or by way of grant by the Crown, then there could not be any prohibition for either the priests or the pilgrims or the Committee of Management to sell the fruits or firewood that grew on these two plots. This prohibition clearly indicates that the Hindu pilgrims had only a right to approach to the Chandra Nath Temple on the top of the Hill without any right vesting in any person of ownership of any part of that land. The petitioner has attempted to make out a case that, by the establishment of the Micro‑Wave Relay Station on the Chandra Nath Hill, there will be interference with the free exercise of the religious rights by the Hindus in regard to the temple situate on Plot No.

181. There is no question whatsoever in this case of interfering with the religious rights of the Hindus by any person whatsoever in the event of the construction of the Micro‑Wave Relay Station on the Chandra Nath Hill. I asked Mr. Debesh Chandra Bhattacharjee a Brahmin, Advocate appearing on behalf of the petitioner, as to whether there is any objection from the Hindus for any Muslim or a non‑Hindu going up the Chandra Nath Hill and visiting this temple from outside, and to my repeated question Mr. Bhattacharjee's reply has beer, that there is no such objection from the Hindus‑and there cannot be either. This question I put to Mr. Bhattacharjee only to clarify as to whether the Hindus would have any objection to a Muslim officer of the Micro‑Wave Relay Station going up the Hill for discharg ing his duties in that station which will be at the same level on the same plot of land, although about 45 ft. away from the temple. Now comes the question, if at all to be considered in this case, as to whether the Government had any right, in the facts stated above, to enter into any portion of this Hill or of Plot No. 181 on which stands the Chandra Nath Temple and use any part of it for any other purpose other than a religious purpose of any other community or any other denomination of the citizens of Pakistan other than Hindus. The management and maintenance of this Shrine vests in a committee composed of all Hindus and an Advocate practising at Chittagong by the name of Satish Chandra Dey is the Secretary of the said Shrine Committee. It is the case of the respondents that when the Telegraph and Telephone Depart ment wanted to set up a Micro‑Wave Relay Station on the top of the Chandra Nath Hill which is the highest in that range, and there being no other suitable hill top for the purpose, they approached the Shrine Committee for their approval to set up the Micro‑Wave Relay Station on the Hill top. This was sometime in November 1966. The Secretary of the Shrine Committee, Mr. Satish Chandra Dey, an Advocate, on 13‑11‑66, gave permission to the Telegraph and Telephone Department to construct a Micro‑Wave Relay Station on the Chandra Nath Hill in Sitakund Mouza, i.e. on a portion of R. S. Plot No.

181. The approval was in the following terms: "Agreed on condition that approach road and temple compound proper are not disturbed. (Sd.) SATISH CHANDRA DEY Advocate, Secy., Shrine Committee. 13‑11‑1966." Thereafter, on the 16th of August 19 67, Mrs. Nellie Sen Gupta, one of the active leaders of the Hindu community of East Pakistan, and an ex‑Member of the Provincial Legislature, and the widow of Mr. J. N. Sen Gupta, one‑time President of the All India Congress, and 96 other Hindus, agreed to the setting up of the Micro‑Wave Relay Station on the Chandra Nath Hill top at Sitakund on certain conditions laid down in their letter addressed to the Deputy Commissioner, Chittagong. Copies of these two documents, namely, the approval of the Secretary of the Shrine Committee, and the letter of Mrs. Nellie Sen Gupta and 96 others, have been appended to a supplementary affidavit‑in-opposition dated 30‑10‑68 filed before us by the respondents Nos. 2 and

3. We prefer to quote in extenso the letter of Mrs Nellie Sen Gupta and 96 others. "To The Deputy Commissioner, Chittagong. Sub: Micro‑Wave Station on Chandra Nath Hill top at Sitakund. After going through your proposed scheme putting a Micro wave mast on the Chandra Nath Hill top, the Hindu community of Chittagong is agreeable to accommodate space for erection of the said mast in the interest of the State and in return we‑ would be expecting equal co‑operation from the authorities concerned. We genuinely hope that the authority will keep no stone unturned to maintain the tranquillity and serenity of the Holy places in Chandra Nath Hill. We would like to hand over the suggested areas in your sketch on the following terms and conditions: (1) (a) The mast should be erected within the scheduled area suggested by you, and this should be in strict pursuance of your approved sketch i.e., `62 ft. away from the temple. (b) The area acquired by you should not exceed 30 ft. in width leaving a wide passage of 15 ft. in the minimum to facilitate easy movement of the pilgrims and also avoid any possible narrowing of the passage by land slides from the edges. (2) (a) There should not be any structure for any other purposes save and except one mast and a possible guard room. (b) The guard must not be other than a Hindu. (3) There should not be any noise and no generator should be installed for maintaining a tranquil atmosphere around the holy temple. We would highly appreciate the commitment by the representative of the T & T Department on 12‑8‑67 with regard to taking electric connection to the hill top from WAPDA right from Sitakund's main road instead of a generator and this should be strictly observed. (4) None other than a Hindu should be allowed to climb up to the hill top except on special duty. (5) There should not be any disturbances or interference at any time whatever may be the situation during the observance of religious rites and festivals on all occasions. (6) The road running from the level crossing right up to the hill top should be developed, maintained always by the T & T or any other Department that may concern (under the guidance of T & T) and the right of passage of pilgrims should never be disturbed. (7) During the festival or melas no car should be allowed to move from the main road to the mela area. (8) Water supply facilities should be improved and arrange ments should be made to maintain easy supply of water up to the hill top. (9) Electric connection should be provided in all temples and during the mela period there should not be any objections from any side for putting extra electric lamps for illuminating the area for facilitating the movements of the pilgrims during night especially in Siva Chaturdashi Mela Chandra‑Grahan, Doljatra and Durga Puja etc. Yours faithfully, Dated 16‑8‑67. (Sd.) MRs. NELLIE SEN GUPTA and 96 others". After the approval of the Secretary, Shrine Committee, and the clearance given by Mrs. Nellie Sen Gupta and other prominent Hindus of Chittagong, the Telegraph and Telephone Department started work for the construction of the Micro‑Wave Relay Station. Before we proceed any further, we would like to refer to a sketch map appended to the petition as Annexure `D' which gives an idea about the levelled space on the hill top which com prises R. S. Plot No.

181. The plot is an oblong shaped one with the Chandra Nath Temple standing on one end of the oblong land and open space lying to the north‑south side of the temple. The approach road to the temple is from another temple called Birupaksha Temple standing at a lower level than the Chandra Nath Temple and we are informed by the learned Advocate, Mr. Bhattacharjee, that the pilgrims have got to go first to Birupaksha Temple and then to Unokoti Temple further up on another hill top and then come back to the Birupaksha Temple and then trek to Chandra Nath Temple by the north and then after making their offerings come down by the steps lying to the south of the oblong area i.e. in front of the temple. The Micro‑Wave Relay Station is being put up at the northern end of Plot No. 181 on an area, according to the learned Advocate‑General, of only .03 acre and the rest of the area needed for the Station which comes to .05 acre lies outside Plot No.

181. From the Sketch Map, Annexure `D' appended to the petition, it is clear that the path the pilgrims take from the bottom of the hill first leads up to Birupaksha Temple, from there goes up to Unokoti Temple which is situate on R. S. Plot No. 148 and then comes back the same way up to the Birupaksha Temple and then turns left and comes by Plot No. 179 and approaches Chandra Nath Temple from the north. This path by which the pilgrims approach the temple has been left untouched and sufficiently wide for the pilgrims to approach the Chandra Nath Temple. The open space behind the temple and the proposed Micro‑Wave Relay Station is shown to be 62 ft. in this sketch map but it is now said that the space between the temple and the Station will be about 42 ft. From these descriptions, given above, it cannot be said that any hindrance or obstacle has been placed in the way of the pilgrims to visit the Chandra Nath Temple. We are informed by the learned Advocate‑General that the approach path to the temple is minimum 15 ft., 18 ft., 20 ft. and 24 ft. in width at different points. In reply to the supplementary affidavit‑in‑opposition dated 30th of October 1968, filed by respondents 2 and 3 the petitioner has filed a supplementary affidavit‑in‑reply. In this supplementary affidavit‑in‑reply the petitioner has annexed certain correspondence that passed between an officer of the Telegraph and Telephone Department and the Secretary of the Shrine Committee, Mr. Satish Chandra Dey, as well as copy of a resolution to have been passed by the Sitakund Shrine Committee in its meeting held on 12‑7‑

67. In the letter of Satish Chandra Dey dated 14‑7‑67 addressed to the Divisional Engineer, Micro‑Wave Survey Division, Dacca, it is said that the Sitakund Shrine Committee regrets that the proposal of the Department cannot be accepted or agreed to. Yet another letter dated 16‑10‑67 is found appended to this affidavit alleged to have been written by Satish Chandra Dey to the Engineer of the V. H. F. Micro‑Wave Station, Dacca, in which he has questioned the authority of the Department in setting up the Micro‑Wave Relay Station on the Chandra Nath Hill without the knowledge of the Sitakund Shrine Committee. The letter is a lengthy one and it says that on two occasions the Sitakund Shrine Committee passed resolution against the proposal of the Department to install the Micro‑Wave Relay Station on the Chandra Nath Hill and such decisions of the Committee were intimated to the Telegraph and Telephone Department as well as to the Deputy Commissioner, Chittagong. Then the writer of the letter, Satish Chandra Dey, proceeds on to talk of sentiments in that letter. But surprisingly, in none of these two letters dated 14‑7‑67 and 1610‑67, Mr. Satish Chandra Dey who is the Secretary of the Sitakund Shrine Com mittee and an Advocate by profession has mentioned even by a hint to the approval that he had given to the setting up of the Micro‑Wave Relay Station on the Chandra Nath Hill at the request of the Department on 13‑11‑66. 7 he present rule was obtained by the petitioner against (1) Islamic Republic of Pakistan represented by the Telegraph and Telephone Department, Government of Pakistan, through the Deputy Commissioner, Chittagong, (2) The General Manager, Eastern Tele‑Communi cation Region, Pakistan Telegraph and Telephone Department, Dacca, (3) The Director, Telegraph and Telephone Department, In‑Charge of Micro‑Wave Station, Dacca, (4) Mr. P. M. Dam, Subordinate Judge, 1st Court, Chittagong and President of the Sitakund Shrine Committee, Chittagong Court Building, Chittagong and (5) Mr. Satish Chandra Dey, Advocate Secretary, Sitakund Shrine Committee, Court Building, Chittagong. From the Return of Service of this rule which was issued on 27‑8‑68, we find that the rule was served personally on respondents 4 and 5 on 3‑9‑

68. It is rather curious that Mr. Satish Chandra Dey, who, we are informed by Mr. Bhattacharjee, is one of the senior most practising Advocates at Chittagong, did not say a word in any of his letters addressed to the respondents with regard to the approval he had given to the setting up of the Micro‑Wave Relay Station on the Chandra Nath Hill nor did he care to appear in this case either to contest the petitioner's claim and give 4 lie to the petitioner's allegation that the Shrine Committee is inactive or to support the case of the petitioner that the Shrine Committee had never agreed to the setting up of the Micro- Wave Relay Station on the Chandra Nath Hill and the Telegraph and Telephone Department was forcibly erecting the Station there. In the affidavit‑in‑reply filed by the petitioner, not a Word has been said denying the document in which approval to the setting up of the Micro‑Wave Relay Station was given by Mr. Satish Chandra Dey nor the signature and handwriting of Mr. Satish Chandra Dey on the said document has been denied. Further, in the affidavit‑in‑reply, the letter of Mrs. Nellit Sen Gupta and 96 other Hindus by which she had given approval to the setting up of the Micro‑Wave Relay Station, has not been denied. If the approval given by Satish Chandra Dey on 13‑I 1‑66 was without the knowledge of the Shrine Committee or against its will, we did not understand why in the resolution of the Shrine Committee, which has been appended to the affidavit- in‑reply, no mention of it was made condemning the act of the Secretary in giving the approval. Upon these facts, the position resolves to this: The Telegraph and Telephone Department, finding no other suitable place other than the Chandra Nath Hill which belongs to the Government for setting up of the Micro -Wave Relay Station, approached the Shrine Committee for a formal permission and no objection and obtained the approval of the Committee from the hand of the Secretary, Mr. Satish Chandra Dey, as far back as 13‑11‑66, and then started construction work sometime at the end of 1967 and prior to that bad obtained a no‑objection from Mrs. Nellie Sea Gupta and 96 other Hindus as well, as is evident from her letter addressed to the Deputy Commissioner, Chittagong. The learned Advocate- General informs us that the roof of the ground floor of the Micro‑Wave Relay Station building was laid in March 1968 and the building, a photograph of which was produced before us by the learned Advocate‑General, was almost completed by the 15th of July 1968. Up to that time neither the petitioner nor, anybody else, if the case of the petitioner is true that objections were raised against the setting up of the Station but these were not listened to, took any step whatsoever for moving this Court. It is on the 15th of August 1968, when everything was completed that the present application was sought to be moved by the petitioner whose locus standi to make this application bas been very seriously challenged by the learned Advocate‑General. We have found from a scrutiny of the Record‑of‑Rights that the land of R. S. Plot 181 is neither debutter nor it belongs to the deity Chandra Nath by any grant from the Crown although Mr. Khondkar at a point of time half‑heartedly attempted to argue that it was a case of lost grant; on the contrary, it belongs to the State, and according to the Record‑of Rights, is also in possession of the State. The petitioner has not been able to produce before us any document of title and Mr. Khondkar, the learned Advocate who argued the cases for the petitioner, described every entry of the Revisional Survey Record‑of‑Rights as incorrect and went so far as to say that the best course for his client is to agitate the question of title in a civil Court in a properly framed suit. He prayed to us to keep this petition pending to enable his client to go to the civil Court and file a suit. In the affidavits of the petitioner he has nowhere said that the Secretary of the Shrine Committee had given the approval without the knowledge of the Committee. All that he has said is that the approval given by the Secretary is misleading which carries no meaning. When the case came up for hearing on the 29th October 1968, Mr. Birendranath Choudhry, Advocate asked for an adjournment for ten days or at least seven days for appearance of the Secretary of the Shrine Committee. We did not grant an adjournment to Mr. Choudhry because a very important project was being held up due to the filing of this petition and the time factor was of great importance in the setting up of the Micro- Wave Relay Station. The Secretary, as we have already observed, has not put in an appearance. There is nothing on record to show that Mr. Satish Chandra Dey, the Secretary of the Shrine Committee, has given the approval to the setting up of .the Micro‑Wave Relay Station without the knowledge of the members of the Shrine Committee. The petitioner who claims to be a member of the Shrine Com mittee must have been aware of any resolution that may have been taken by the Shrine Committee on this subject but he did not, in his affidavits, say with any amount of certainty about any decision of the Shrine Committee. The petitioner's allegation that the Shrine Committee was either negligent or deliberately refrained from performing its duties is not borne out by any evidence. The petitioner does not seem to have complained to the District Judge about the Shrine Committee's negligence of duty. The papers which have been appended to the supplementary affidavit‑in‑reply filed on the 31st of October 1968, by the petitioner are said to have come into his possession through Mr. B. N. Choudhry, Advocate, to whom, it is said, Mr. Satish Chandra Dey had sent those with instructions to produce the same in Court, if necessary. Even in this view of the matter, we fail to understand as to why the Secretary of the Shrine Com mittee, Mr. Satish Chandra Dey, did not consider it necessary to appear in the case after receiving notice of the rule and say whatever he had to say in the matter. From all these facts, we are left with the impression that this application made by Sasanka Lal Banik who is a resident of the locality where the temple is, is not only the result of afterthought but is an inspired one. Since we have found that the land on which the Micro‑Wave Relay Station is being set up belongs to the State and is in the khas possession of the Government, and since the Telegraph and Telephone Department has obtained formal approval from the Secretary of the Shrine Committee as well as clearance from the Hindus of Chittagong who have in unambiguous terms stated in] their letter addressed to the Deputy Commissioner that they have no objection to the setting up of the Micro‑Wave Relay Station on the Chandra Nath Hill, and since no particular order of the Government under any of the laws in force is under challenge in this application, we find no substance in the application of the petitioner on any of the grounds, namely, the land being debutte or to have belonged to the deity Chandra Nath by grantor otherwise, trespass by the Telegraph and Telephone Department, obstacles being created in the path of the Hindu pilgrims to visit the temple of Chandra Nab, and we accordingly dismiss this application and discharge this rule but leave the parties to bear their own costs. NURUL ISLAM, J.‑

I agree. Rule discharged.