Revisional jurisdiction cannot reweigh evidence absent perversity; joint Hindu family ownership was sustained on the record.
Section 48 revisional power under the U.P. Consolidation of Holdings Act permits scrutiny of correctness, legality, propriety and regularity, but not de novo reappreciation of evidence like an appellate court. Interference is justified only where findings are perverse, unsupported by evidence, contrary to law, or vitiated by procedural irregularity; here, the revisional authority merely substituted its own factual view without identifying such defects, so the High Court's quashing of that order was upheld. On the evidence, the disputed khatas were treated as joint Hindu family property held for the benefit of the family, and the findings of co-sharership were sustained.
Issues: (i) Whether, under Section 48 of the U.P. Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1953, the revisional authority could reappreciate evidence and upset concurrent or reasoned findings without showing perversity or legal impropriety; (ii) whether the khatas in dispute were joint Hindu family property held for the benefit of all members of the family.
Issue (i): Whether, under Section 48 of the U.P. Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1953, the revisional authority could reappreciate evidence and upset concurrent or reasoned findings without showing perversity or legal impropriety.
Analysis: The revisional power under Section 48 is wide enough to examine the correctness, legality, propriety and regularity of orders, but it remains distinct from appellate jurisdiction. The revisional authority cannot assume the role of a fact-finding appellate court or reweigh evidence de novo. Interference is justified only where the subordinate authority's findings are perverse, unsupported by evidence, contrary to law, or vitiated by procedural irregularity. In the present case, the Deputy Director of Consolidation did not identify perversity or a legal infirmity in the Settlement Officer's findings and merely substituted a different view on facts.
Conclusion: The revisional interference was unjustified, and the High Court was right in quashing the revisional order.
Issue (ii): Whether the khatas in dispute were joint Hindu family property held for the benefit of all members of the family.
Analysis: The evidence relied upon by the Settlement Officer showed acquisition and enjoyment of property across branches of the family, common entries, and surrounding circumstances indicating jointness. The legal position accepted was that a joint Hindu family is the normal condition of Hindu society, and while the coparcenary is not a juristic person, the members collectively hold the property. The conclusion that the properties stood in the names of individual members but were held for the benefit of the family was supported by the material on record, and there was no basis to treat the holdings as self-acquired properties of the appellants alone.
Conclusion: The khatas were rightly treated as joint Hindu family property and the parties were co-sharers.
Final Conclusion: The High Court's restoration of the Settlement Officer's order was upheld, as the revisional authority had exceeded the proper limits of revisional scrutiny and the finding of joint family ownership was sustainable on the evidence.
Ratio Decidendi: A revisional authority may correct perversity, illegality or impropriety, but it cannot function as an appellate court by reappreciating evidence and substituting its own factual conclusions unless the subordinate findings are unsupported by evidence or otherwise vitiated.
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