Article 32 relief unavailable where property title is disputed and statutory adjudication is still pending

An Article 32 petition seeking to restrain inquiry under the Bihar Land Reforms Act was held untenable because the claim depended on disputed questions of title and fact, including whether the land was raiyati land and whether the buildings were used as a kutcheri. As title had not been established and those factual issues were within the statutory authorities' jurisdiction, no enforceable constitutional grievance arose at that stage. The Court therefore found no infringement of fundamental rights and held that constitutional relief could not be invoked while the property controversy remained subject to lawful adjudication in the pending proceedings.

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Issues: Whether a petition under Article 32 was maintainable when the petitioner's claim to the property depended on disputed questions of title and fact pending before the statutory authorities, and whether any infringement of fundamental rights was shown.

Analysis: The petition sought to restrain inquiry under Section 4(h) of the Bihar Land Reforms Act into a transfer made within the statutory period. The relief claimed depended on whether the land was raiyati land and whether the buildings were used as a kutcheri, both being disputed factual questions within the jurisdiction of the Collector under the Act. The Court held that a person cannot complain of infringement of a right to hold property until title to the property is first established, and that where title itself is under lawful adjudication, no enforceable constitutional grievance arises at that stage.

Conclusion: The petition under Article 32 was not maintainable and no infringement of fundamental rights was made out.

Final Conclusion: The challenge failed because the controversy was one of title and fact to be determined in the statutory proceedings, leaving no basis for constitutional relief at that stage.

Ratio Decidendi: A claim under Article 32 alleging infringement of property rights cannot be sustained while the petitioner's title is itself in dispute and is being lawfully adjudicated by competent statutory authorities on questions of fact within their jurisdiction.

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