Chief Justice Vipul M. Pancholi bench grants relief without examining the merits of case

In Dhananjay Kumar & Ors. vs. The State of Bihar through the Principal Secretary, Revenue and Land Reforms Department, Government of Bihar & Ors. (2025), Patna High Court's Division Bench of Chief Justice Vipul M. Pancholi and Justice Partha Sarthy delivered a 3-page long judgement dated July 24, 2025 granting relief to the appellants without examining the merits of case.

The appellants were the owners of the land in which, now, the respondent authorities had decided to construct Panchayat Sarkar Bhawan. The appellants had made representation before the respondent authorities.  Justice Rajesh Kumar Verm, the Single Judge had dismissed their petition mainly on the ground citing an order passed by a Division Bench of the High Court, wherein it was held that "it is for the authorities to decide where the Panchayat Sarkar Bhawan is to be constructed." 

The counsel for the appellants submitted before Justice Pancholi led bench that if the respondent authorities are directed to decide the representation filed by the appellants, then the appellants would be satisfied with the same. In his 4th judgement as Chief Justice, Justice Pancholi concluded: "If the appellants file the representation within a period of four weeks from today, respondent No. 6 shall decide the same in accordance with law within a period of twelve weeks from the date of receipt of such representation. 5. It is clarified that we have not examined the merits of the case of the appellants."

The appeal was filed under Clause-X of the Letters Patent of Patna High Court Rules against the 4-page long order dated February 17, 2025, passed by Justice Rajesh Kumar Verma, the Single Judge in Dhananjay Kumar & Ors. vs. The State of Bihar through the Principal Secretary, Revenue and Land Reforms Department, Government of Bihar & Ors. (2025) CWJC No. 2840 of 2025, whereby the Single Judge had dismissed the petition filed by the present appellants/petitioners. 

Justice Verma had relied on  order dated April 7, 2023 passed by High Court's Division Bench of Chief Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Madhuresh Prasad in Naveen Kumar Ram & Ors. vs. The State of Bihar through the Principal Secretary, Panchayati Raj Department, Government of Bihar & Ors. (2023), because not a single cheat of paper annexed by the petitioners suggested that construction was going on the land of the petitioners. The order was authored by Justice Prasad. He concluded: "8. No case is made out for interference by this Court."