Land grabbing case
SHILLONG: In a major blow to former Additional Advocate General (AAG) SP Mahanta, the city police has filed the charge-sheet against the senior advocate and his wife Vennetta Kharsyntiew for fraudulently “grabbing” the property of an NRI based in Sydney.
Informing this here on Monday, Vivek Syiem, Superintendent of Police (city), said the charge-sheet has been filed and a case of forgery and cheating has been registered against the duo.
“The trial will start shortly,” the senior police official said.
It may be mentioned here that Tushar Nath Bhatacharjee, a senior citizen and a NRI living in Sydney has been fighting a legal battle for several years to get back his ancestral property, which he claimed the former AAG has taken possession of illegally.
A legal suit was filed in the Shillong District Court in April, 2004 by Bhattacharjee and his two sisters against Mahanta and his wife for alleged illegal encroachment of 14,285 sq feet of their property at Lower Lachumiere.
Last year, the High Court of Meghalaya upheld the earlier order of the District Judge, Shillong, which termed the possession of land by Mahanta and his wife at Lower Lachumiere as illegal.
After hearing a revision filed by Mahanta and his wife against the order of the District Judge B. Giri (Court of the Deputy Commissioner-Judicial) dated May 6, 2013, the Chief Justice of High Court of Meghalaya, Justice PC Pant in his order had said, “This court is not inclined to interfere with the order passed by the Appellate Court. As such, the revision filed under Section 36-A of Administration of Justice and Police (in Khasi and Jaintia Hills) 1937, is hereby dismissed.”
The High Court in its order even had referred to the statement of Venetta Kharsyntiew in her cross examination which reflects that when the agreement related to the land was signed, the plaintiff Tushar was not in India nor had he signed the agreement. Mahanta lost the post of AAG two times following the case.
When the matter was raked up in the Assembly by the Opposition in March, 2011, the Government was compelled to ask Mahanta to step down. After the case was dismissed in February, 2012, Mahanta was re-instated by the Government. Yet again in May, 2013, Mahanta had to quit the post after the District Judge ruled his possession of land as illegal.
The case is that late Aghor Nath Bhattacharjee had acquired on April 13, 1967, a plot of land measuring 19,585 sq feet numbered as plot No. 80 in patta (lease) No. 58 located in Lachumiere, Shillong, from the then Government of Assam (now Government of Meghalaya).
After his death on March 19, 1984, the property was transferred to his heirs – Sabitri Bhattacharjee (widow), Tushar Nath Bhattacharjee and Binoy Nath Bhattacharjee (sons), Sujata Bezbaruah and Sabita Goswami (daughters).
Later, Tushar, his mother and brother applied for mutation, and through an order on March 20, 1991, passed by Extra Assistant Commissioner (Revenue), Shillong their names were recorded.