SWARAN SINGH Vs. FINANCIAL COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This case relates to a dispute between the tenants and the landowners under whom they held land on lease. Petitioners herein are Swaran Singh and three others claiming to be the tenants of respondents 2 to 8 and plead that the predecessor-in-interest of the respondents was one Tara Chand who was a big landowner and the land in dispute was a part of his surplus area, which had been so declared under the provision of the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953, in 1962. It is further claimed that the petitioners had been cultivating the land before partition, had not committed any default, but after the land had been declared surplus, the respondents were left with no right or title in the land which duly vested in the State Government and a mutation No. 1705 to that effect had been duly sanctioned in the name of the State Government and as such their relationship of landlord and tenant ceased to exit.

(2.) The contention of the tenants was considered in the ejectment proceedings instigated by respondents 2 to 8 by filing an application in Form L. The application was allowed by the Assistant Collector Ist Grade, Zira on April 15, 1994 and it was held that "the respondents cultivated the land under the applicants, they did not pay the share of the produce to the applicants without sufficient cause" and the tenants were ordered to be ejected from the land In dispute. They filed an appeal before the Additional Deputy Coinmissioner-cum-Collector, Ferozepur, which was dismissed on October 20, 1999. Their revision before the Commissioner, Ferozepur, was likewise dismissed on February 28, 1997. Their petition under Section 24 of the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953 read with Section 84 of the Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887, was also rejected by the learned Financial Commissioner on May 6, 1999. Aggrieved by the orders, the petitioners have filed the present writ petition challenging the aforementioned orders (Annexures P-1 to P-4) whereby they have been ordered to be ejected from the land.

(3.) Respondent 1 has filed a written statement controverting the averments made in the petition. Respondents 2, 3 and 4 have also filed a separate written statement. Respondents 5 to 8 were absent despite service and were proceeded against ex-parte. According to the respondents they were the successors-in- interest of Tara Chand, the original landowner, who died in 1977. It was admitted that Tara Chand was a big landowner and some area had been declared surplus in 1962 under the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953, however, as regards the petitioners it was categorically stated that they came into possession of the disputed land only in 1980 as tenants and not before partition of the country as alleged.