AMAR SINGH Vs. CUSTODIAN EVACUEE PROPERTY PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an application under Art. 32 of the Constitution by the petitioners, Amar Singh and four others, in the following circumstances. All these five are displaced persons who owned land in the nonsuburuban village of Chak No. 159 - RB, Tahsil Jaranwala, District Lyallpur in Pakistan. They were also co-shares in a joint khata owned by some evacuees in village Sultanwind, a suburb of Amritsar in East Punjab. On their displacement, they were in the first instance temporarily allotted agricultural land in Sultanwind. Having regard to their original position in the village, they were allotted in the year 1949 a total area of 38 standard acres and 13 units of agricultural land therein. This allotment had to be disturbed under the following circumstances. The Director-General of Relief and Rehabilitation (Additional Custodian) directed by an order dated 7th January 1950, that of the 1,263 standard acres and 1 3/4 units of suburban land of Amritsar, 142 standard acres and 5 units were to be allotted to allottees of Provincial Gardens. This necessitated readjustment of allotments of the suburban land of Sultanwind amongst the various groups who had quasi-permanent allotment therein. As a result of this readjustment which had to be carried out according to certain rules and instructions, the allotment of these five petitioners (as also of some others) was proposed for cancellation by the order of the Deputy Custodian, Amritsar, dated 31st July 1951. This proposal was approved by the Custodian (Financial Commissioner, Relief and Rehabilitation) on 6th February 1952, and the allotment was cancelled. The proposal and the order of cancellation are said to have been passed without notice to the petitioners. Being aggrieved thereby they moved the Custodian-General of Evacuee Property for revision thereof under S. 27 of the Administration of Evacuee Property Act, 1950 (XXXI of 1950). This was dealt with by the Deputy Custodian General who dismissed the same by a fairly elaborate order dated 1st May 1954, after hearing the parties. The petitioners have come upto this Court by this application under Art. 32 of the Constitution.

(2.) The case of the petitioners is that the allotment to them was on quasi-permanent basis and that, therefore, they have acquired certain rights in the lands which constitute 'property'. They urge that the order of the Custodian cancelling the allotment and that of the Deputy Custodian-General affirming the same are in violation of their fundamental rights to property under Arts. 19 (1) (f), 31 (1) and 31 (2) of the Constitution. They accordingly contend that they are entitled to have these orders quashed and their rights to property declared and protected. That the petitioners are allottees of agricultural land on the basis of what has come to be known as quasi-permanent allotment is not disputed. It is also not disputed that cancellation thereof was under the purported exercise of powers vested in the Custodian under certain provisions of the Administration of Evacuee Property Act, 1950 (XXXI of 1950) and the rules framed thereunder taken with some executive instructions. It may be mentioned that the term "quasi-permanent" allotment appears to be a term which has come into vogue in later statutory rules and has at no time been specifically defined, though it appears to be now fairly well-understood. The two substantial questions that arise, therefore, for consideration are (1) whether the rights of a quasi-permanent allottee constitute property within the meaning of the articles above referred to, and (2) whether the orders of the Custodian and Deputy Custodian-General cancelling the quasi-permanent allotment amount to violation of fundamental rights contemplated by the above articles. Both these questions require a review of the Evacuee Property Law in so far as it relates to the allotment of agricultural lands of the evacuees to displaced land-holders and an appreciation of the background of the circumstances that necessitated it.

(3.) The declaration of independence and the partition of India into Pakistan and India on 15th August 1947, was accompanied by mass migrations of Non-Muslims from West Punjab to East Punjab and of Muslims from East Punjab to West Punjab. These mass migrations were on a stupendous scale. About five million persons are said to have moved from each side to the other. This was done in a state of panic generated by communal riots. Migrants from West Punjab reached East Punjab almost destitute. This unprecedented situation brought in its train gigantic problems of administration relating to rehabilitation and resettlement of these persons. One of such problems was that relating to agricultural immovable property left on either side by the migrants. For purposes of convenience, persons who crossed over from East Punjab to West Punjab are referred to as evacuees, and persons who came over from West Punjab to East Punjab are referred to as displaced persons. The displaced persons are said to have left in Pakistan lands of the extent of about 67 lakh acres. The evacuees seem to have left in East Punjab and Pepsu, lands of the extent of about 47 lakh acres. This meant a deficit of over 20 lakh acres for resettlement.