ROOP KUMAR Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) On 4th July, 1976 Mr.M.L.Aggarwal, respondent No.4, as Competent Authority and Revenue Assistant Delhi while acting under the Delhi Land Holding (Ceiling) Act, 1960 dismissed the petition of Roop Kaur dated 28th May, 1976 seeking to exclude the land allegedly belonging to her from the holding of respondent No.5 Tej Pratap Singh for the purpose of fixing the ceiling limit. This was followed by an order passed by Sh.A.C.Kher, Additional Collector, Delhi on April I , 1977 by which the objections of respondent No.5 Tej Pratap Singh under section 9 of the said Act were dismissed. By that order too the contention of respondent No.5 Tej Pratap Singh that a portion of the land belonged to the petitioner was rejected. The petitioner by way of this writ petition seeks to get these orders quashed as far as her claim in the land is concerned.

(2.) Since there has been a long drawn litigation leading to the filing of the writ petition in question I do feel that what is called for at this juncture is a glance over its history in necessary detail.

(3.) Rai Bahadur Narain Singh owned huge chunks of land in the revenue estate of village Mandoli, Illaqa Shahdara. Sardar Jagmer Singh was his son. Rai Bahadur executed a will by which Sardar Jagmer Singh was given life estate with regard to land measuring 428 bighas and 7 and a half biswas. After the death of the Rai Bahadur and while Sardar Jagmer Singh was enjoying the life estate in consequence of the will of his father the provisions of the Delhi Land Reforms Act, 1954 came into force. Admittedly after the enforcement of the said Act Sardar Jagmer Singh was declared Bhumidar of the said 428 bighas and 7 and a half biswas of land which is detailed in paragraph 1 of the writ petition. On March 15, 1968 Sardar Jagmer Singh died issueless leaving behind his widow Smt. Roop Kaur who was the original petitioner before me. The case of the petitioner is that Sardar Jagmer Singh fraudulently and surreptitiously got the mutation of the Bhumidari rights in his name. This came to be known to Roop Kaur in the last week of May, 1976. However, much before that and to be precise on April 16, 1962 the Delhi Land Holding (Ceiling) Act, 1960 had come into force. The 1975 amendment of the Act came about by ordinance No. 27 of 1975. By virtue of that Act the Lt. Governor called for the returns to be filed in Form AA and under section 4 of the said Act. In the last week of May, 1976 Roop Kaur not only came to know of her land having been mutated in the name of Tej Pratap Singh but so also about his having filed his return including therein the land of which S.Jagmer Singh had been declared the Bhumidar. It was thus the time for Roop Kaur to act and in May 28, 1976 she filed an application before the Competent Authority that she being the absolute Bhumidar of the land being the sole successor of S.Jagmer Singh, mutation in favour of Tej Pratap Singh was wrong, illegal and not binding upon her. The same day she filed a civil suit for declaration to the effect that she being the sole heir of S.Jagmer Singh, was entitled to succeed to the Bhumidari rights of her deceased husband. She also challenged the mutation in favour of Tej Patap Singh with regard to the said land. On 2.3.1976 she filed her own return under section 4 of the Delhi Land Holding (Ceiling) Amendment Act with regard to the land in question. It was dismissed on the very next day. On the 22nd day of June, 1976 Roop Kaur filed an appeal against the order of November 18, 1969 by which mutation had been sanctioned in favour of Tej Pratap Singh. On August 23, 1978 the Additional District Magistrate (Revenue) set aside the order of November 18, 1969 holding that it was passed without notice to Roop Kaur and without enquiry.