SAT NARAIN Vs. FINANCIAL COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This judgment will dispose of Civil Writs 227 and 228 of 1966.

(2.) The basic facts are common. Only the names of tenant-respondent (No. 3) are different. In Civil Writ 227/1966, the tenant-respondent is Mulla Ram, while in Civil Writ 228 the tenant-respondent (No. 3) is Budh Ram son of Khewan.

(3.) The undisputed facts are that in 1961, the tenant-respondent (No. 3) made application for purchase of land under Section 18 of the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953 (hereinafter called the Act), against the petitioners (hereinafter known as the 'landlords'). The application was resisted by the landlords inter alia on the ground that they were small landowners. This objection prevailed with the Assistant Collector who, in consequence, dismissed the tenant's purchase application.