PUNJAB STATE THROUGH COLLECTOR Vs. GRAM PANCHAYAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Regular Second Appeal is directed against judgment and decree dated 22.1.1981 passed by the Additional District & Sessions Judge, Ludhiana (hereinafter described as 'the first appellate Court') vide which the appeal of the plaintiff-respondent was accepted and the judgment & decree dated 28.12.1978 of the Senior Subordinate Judge, Ludhiana (referred to hereinafter as 'the trial Court') were set aside.

(2.) Briefly stated the facts of the case are that the respondent, which is a Gram Panchayat of village Chak Kalan, Tehsil & District Ludhiana, had filed a suit for possession of the agricultural land fully described in the plaint (for brevity, 'the suit property'). It was averred that on 23.8.1902, the proprietors of the village had orally gifted the suit property in favour of Mohan Dass, Chela Narain Dass; that mutation No. 701 was accordingly sanctioned in that regard by the revenue authorities on 31.12.1903; that after the death of Mohan Dass, the suit property passed on to his Chela Mast Ram, Faqir Bairagi and mutation No. 1307 dated 25.2.1938 was sanctioned in his favour; that Mast Ram died and thereafter the suit property was mutated in favour of the State of Punjab on 17.6.1967 on the ground that he had not left any Chela or any other member of his fraternity and, therefore, the suit property stood escheated. On the basis of these averments, the respondent had claimed the suit property by pleading that instead of going to the State of Punjab, the same should have reverted back to it.

(3.) The appellant had contested the suit and pleaded that the suit property had rightly escheated to it because there was no lineal decendent of Mast Ram. It was further pleaded that there was no other Chela, who could have taken over the suit property.