The Allahabad High Court has stayed an administrative directive issued by the Bijnor District Magistrate regarding the management of the traditional annual Jahar Diwan fair, noting that the officer prima facie exceeded administrative authority. Hearing the matter, a division bench comprising Justice J.J. Munir and Justice Vivek Saran observed that district collectors must not exercise their administrative authority as though they hold unlimited power in their districts. The bench reiterated that judicial and statutory domains belonging to other district-level authorities and courts cannot be superseded by executive fiats.
Suspension of executive order and fair permissions
The division bench stayed the controversial administrative order concerning the traditional annual Jahar Diwan fair, which takes place on Gogha Navami, after concluding that the directive fell beyond the legal remit of the district administration. The court granted permission to the petitioners to organise the traditional fair at Fioona village in Chandpur tehsil of Bijnor, subject to obtaining requisite clearances and statutory approvals from the concerned local authorities. The judges described the administrative intervention as an apparent instance of executive overreach, emphasizing that routine governance does not permit bypassing established procedural limits.
Transfer of fair revenues and change in administrative guard
The challenged order had shifted the entire management of the traditional gathering to the local village assembly. In addition, the executive directive constituted a three-member committee of revenue officials assigned to oversee the conduct of the fair and direct all proceeds and income generated from the event into the accounts of the village assembly. The decision was formally approved on August 29, 2025, by the then Bijnor District Magistrate, IAS officer Jasjit Kaur. She was transferred from the district the following month and was succeeded by IAS officer Umesh Pratap Singh, who presently serves as the head of the district administration.
Pre-existing civil litigation and boundaries of executive authority
Aggrieved by the executive order, the management committee of Public Arya Inter College, along with another affected party, filed a writ petition before the High Court challenging the handover of the fair and its associated revenues. While reviewing the case, the bench took note of the fact that the petitioners had already instituted civil litigation against the village assembly and contesting private parties regarding the dispute. The court held that administrative authorities cannot step into active civil disputes or issue blanket fiats over issues that require adjudication through designated civil forums and statutory channels.
