Land character must be proved on evidence, not presumptions based on municipal location or assumed agricultural status.

The character of land must be ermined on evidence of its physical features, situation and actual use, and not on a blanket presumption that all land is agricultural or that municipal location alone makes it non-agricultural. The High Court held that the authorities had not conducted the required factual inquiry or allowed evidence on the nature of the land before applying the Land Revenue Code. Their findings were therefore unsustainable for material irregularity, and the matter was quashed and remanded to the competent authority for fresh decision after proper evidence and consideration.

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Issues: Whether the authorities were right in proceeding on presumptions that all lands are agricultural unless converted and that land situated within municipal limits is necessarily non-agricultural, and whether the matter had to be remanded for a factual determination of the nature of the land.

Analysis: The controversy turned on the character of the land and whether unauthorised non-agricultural use could be inferred without evidence. The record showed that neither authority undertook the required factual inquiry into the physical features, situation, and actual nature of the land before invoking the Land Revenue Code. The applicable legal framework did not support a blanket presumption that all lands are agricultural, nor did it justify treating municipal location alone as conclusive of non-agricultural character. The correct approach required the fact-finding authority to permit parties to lead evidence and then determine the nature of the land before deciding whether conversion permission or penalty consequences could arise.

Conclusion: The findings of both authorities were unsustainable for material irregularity, and the matter had to be quashed and remanded to the competent authority for fresh decision after proper evidence and consideration.

Ratio Decidendi: The character of land must be determined on evidence of its physical properties and situation, and neither a general presumption that all land is agricultural nor municipal location alone can substitute for a factual finding by the competent authority.

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