MUKHTIAR SINGH Vs. ARJAN SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal under Clause 10 of the Letters Patent is directed against the judgment of a learned Single Judge, dated July 16, 1968. The writ petition of Arjan Singh respondent was accepted on the ground that the Assistant Director, Consolidation of Holdings, had no jurisdiction to review his previous order filing the appeal of Mukhtiar Singh appellant on the ground that it was barred by time and, therefore, the order of the Assistant Director passed on review on October 22, 1965, was quashed together with the order of the Additional Director Consolidation of Holdings passed on July 20, 1965.

(2.) IT has been submitted by the learned counsel for the appellant that the learned Single Judge erred in holding that the subsequent order of the Assistant Director passed on October 22, 1965, amounted to review of his previous order filing the appeal of Mukhtiar Singh as barred by time which had been passed in the absence of Mukhtiar Singh appellant and without affording him an opportunity to show that the appeal was within time. When Mukhtiar Singh came to know that his appeal had been filed on the ground that it was barred by time, he made an application to the Assistant Director to hear the appeal on merits as, according to him, it was within time. At the hearing of this application it was pointed out that the order of the Settlement Officer, against which the appeal had been presented, was passed on April 30, 1964 and the application for a certified copy was made on June 22, 1964. The certified copy was received by Mukhtiar Singh, through post on August 12, 1964 and the appeal filed on August 14, 1964 was within time.

(3.) THE learned Assistant Director after satisfying himself about these facts held that the appeal was not barred by time and, therefore, he decided to hear it on merits. When this order was passed, the respondent, Arjan Singh, was also present and it was not shown by him that the memorandum of appeal presented by Mukhtiar Singh appellant was really barred by time. Arjan Singh did not take this plea even in his application under Section 42 of the East Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation) Act, 1948, hereinafter called the Act.