SOHAN LAL Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners in these two petitions pray that the auction for lease of Panchayat land held on 3/04/2001 be quashed. The respondents claim that they have paid an amount of Rupees One Crore and twenty lacs. The lease of 1 year in favour of the petitioners has already expired. Thus, they have no cause for grievance. They are bound to handover possession to the respondents whose bid has been accepted. The facts as given in C.W.P. No. 6695 of 2001 may be briefly noticed.

(2.) The petitioners and some of the private respondents are residents of village Mohanpur. They claim to be lessees on the agricultural land measuring 582 acres 1 kanal and 2 marlas"since decades". The Panchayat is the owner of the land. The petitioners allege that they have committed no default in paying the lease money. They are in possession of the latest receipts issued by the official respondents. A true copy of one of the receipts has been produced as Annexure P-1 with the writ petition. The land was never put to auction as the petitioners and respondent Nos. 47 to 111"were considered to be best pay masters as lessees". Certain persons,"who were not at all concerned with the land in dispute filed a Civil Writ Petition No. 7270 of 2000 titled as Col. Balwant Singh v. The State of Haryana seeking a mandamus to forthwith conduct the open auction for leasing out the lands, which were either owned by the Gram Panchayat Mohanpur or under their management/control and to start the auction @ Rs. 6,000.00 per acre per annum, minimum". This writ petition was decided vide judgment dated 11/12/2000. The authorities were directed to give publicity regarding the auction of land for lease in accordance with the rules. The reserve rate of annual lease was ordered to be not less than Rs. 8,000.00 per acre. A copy of the judgment has been produced as Annexure P-2 with the writ petition.

(3.) In pursuance to the directions given in the judgment, the Gram Panchayat passed a resolution on 16/03/2001 to auction the lease rights in the land measuring 582 acres 1 kanal 2 marlas. A notice was issued that land shall be auctioned on 3/04/2001 at 9.00 A.M. in Primary School, Mohanpur. It was further mentioned that the initial bid in the auction would start at Rs. 8,000.00 per acre. A copy of the notice has been produced as Annexure P-3. The petitioners allege that they were not informed about the auction conducted on 3/04/2001. They were deprived of the opportunity to participate. The auction held on 3/04/2001 was in contravention of the mandatory provisions of rules 6, 8 and 9. Charan Singh, petitioner No. 3, had filed a suit. The Panchayat had been impleaded as a party. An interim stay had been granted by the Civil Court. Despite that, the auction was held. The petitioners having become tenants by the efflux of time, the land in dispute could not be auctioned. They were not even parties in C.W.P. No. 7270 of 2001. The petitioners had sent a telegram against the auction fixed for 3/04/2001. No action was taken. The petitioners had moved a petition under Section 10-A of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961 for the cancellation of the land in favour of the private respondents. Since the Collector had not proceeded in the matter, they have approached this Court through the present writ petition.