BHAGTU Vs. THE STATE OF PUNJAB AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This judgment will dispose of five petitions Civil Writ Petitions No. 2665, 2666, 2667, 2668 and 2687 of 1973 as they involve common questions of law and fact.

(2.) The Governor of Punjab vide Memo No. 7841 -JN(IV -6161/2199, dated August 21, 1961 framed a scheme for the disposal of inferior evacuee land by its allotment to eligible Harijans and Backward Classes. The Tehsil Advisory Committee, Hoshiarpur, allotted the land in dispute to the five Petitioners in the said writ petitions in the year, 1962 and they were put in possession of the land allotted to them some time in the year 1963. Their allotment was cancelled by the Deputy Commissioner on May, 20, 1973 and it is this order which has been challenged in these petitions it is surprising that these petitions were admitted to hearing without any copy of the order produced with the petitions or even any date of the order mentioned therein. However, the learned Additional Advocate General has produced the original record today and from its perusal it is found that the Officer Incharge of the District Rehabilitation Department moved the Deputy Commissioner for cancellation of the allotment in favour of the Petitioners on two grounds namely, that the Tehsil Advisory Committee was not competent to order the allotment and that the allottees being not Ian Hess persons were not entitled to the allotment. This report was got verified and after discussing the matter with the District Rehabilitation Authority, the Deputy Commissioner who was only the competent authority under the Scheme to make any allotment, cancelled the said allotment of land to the Petitioners.

(3.) Before dealing with the matter on merits, it may be mentioned that the Petitioner in each case has produced in the Court replication by way of an affidavit. I am, however, not inclined to entertain it because a further affidavit can only be filed with prior permission of this Court. No application to that effect has been submitted according to the procedure. The affidavits are, therefore, returned to the Petitioners.