BALBIR SINGH Vs. STATE OF U.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Mr. B.C. Pandey, the learned senior counsel assisted by Mr. K. N. Joshi, the learned Counsel for the petitioners, Mr. Sudhir Kumar, the learned brief holder for the State authorities and Mr. Sharad Sharma, the learned senior counsel assisted by Mr. Lok Pal Singh, the learned Counsel for the intervenor.

(2.) This is a second round of litigation under the U.P. Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1960 (herein after referred to as 'the Act'). A notice under Section 10 (2) of the Act was issued to Jaswant S/o Nihal accompanied with C.L.H. Form-III indicating therein that Jaswant was holding land in village Dhandhera, village Mohanpur and village Nagla Ahmad. The notice indicated that an area of 18 bighas 1 biswa and 9 biswansi was proposed to be shown as surplus land in the hands of Jaswant. Jaswant filed his objections alleging that he had no surplus land. The prescribed authority, by an order dated 27th February, 1976 declared 18 bighas 1 biswa and 9 biswansi as surplus land. Jaswant filed an appeal, which was partly allowed by an order dated 08th March, 1977 and the surplus land was reduced to 16 bighas 2 biswa and 2/3 biswansi. Jaswant, being aggrieved by the aforesaid orders, filed a writ petition No. 2121/1977 before the Allahabad High Court and, during its pendency, Jaswant died and, his three sons, namely, Balbir Singh, Sukhbir Singh and Samay Singh were substituted as the petitioners.

(3.) The said writ petition was dismissed by a judgment dated 5th March, 1979 and the surplus land declared by the authorities was affirmed. By the said judgment, the plea of the petitioners that the land in question was an ancestral property and was not the individual property of Jaswant was not accepted by the High Court. The court held that no evidence was filed by the petitioners to support the contention that the property was ancestral.