DEVSHANKAR GOVINDRAM BHATT Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The competent authority by its order dtd.25th September, 1978 came to the conclusion that the vacant land held by the petitioners was not in excess of the ceiling on the ground that it was ancestral H.U.F. properties and that there were 13 adult co-sharers.

(2.) The Government took the matter suo motu in revision under section 34 of the Act by the show-cause notice dtd. 18th October, 1982 and ultimately passed the order on 30th January, 1984, Annexure-B to the petition, and held that the original grant by Bhavnagar State in favour of the ancestors of the petitioners were of limited tenure and full occupancy rights were given under the Saurashtra Barkhali Abolition Act, and, therefore, the land cannot be treated as ancestral. The Government also observed that Hindu Undivided Family is also a body of individuals and, therefore, a person , entitled to hold one unit only.

(3.) This last observation is clearly erroneous, it cannot be stated as a matter of uniform and invariable rule that whenever there is a body of individuals, it has to be treated as a person particularly in view of the fact that the Urban Land ( Ceiling & Regulation ) Act, has special provisions relating to Hindu Undivided Family. Therefore, whenever the land is held by a Hindu Undivided Family, the provision appplicable to the Hindu Undivided Family is 10 he applied and in absence of any special reasons, circumstances and facts, it cannot be taken as, a body of individuals.