ROOP SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Mool Chand son of Shri Tulsi Ram was the owner of land measuring 73 kanals 11 marlas situate in village Rurwala, Tehsil and District Ferozepur. Collector Ferozepur vide his order dated December 27, 1967 declared 28 standard acres 8-1/2 units as surplus area in the hands of Mool Chand while allowing him 20 standard acres as permissible area and 7 standard acres and 4-1/2 units as tenant's permissible area. It may be noticed here that though the landowner was entitled to 30 standard acres as permissible area under the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, but a penalty of 10 standard acres was imposed on him allegedly on account of delayed filing of return in Form-A.

(2.) Petitioners in this writ petition i.e. Roop Singh and Mohinder Singh sons of Karam Singh purchased 32 kanals from Mool Chand vide registered sale deed on June 5, 1968. According to the petitioners they were the sitting tenants on the land of Mool Chand. It may be noticed here that the declaration of the surplus area in the hands of Mool Chand by the Collector on December 27, 1967 was upheld by the Commissioner vide his order dated February 10, 1969 and by the Financial Commissioner vide his order dated September 2, 1969. The present petitioners were not party to those proceedings. Mool Chand, landowner, challenged the declaration of the surplus area by way of writ petition in this Court being civil writ petition No. 3211 of 1969. During the pendency of that writ petition Mool Chand died on July 29, 1973. Ultimately that writ petition was allowed on March 5, 1980 and the orders of the Collector, Commissioner and that of the Financial Commissioner were set aside. It was also observed in the judgment that the penalty imposed on Mool Chand by which he was deprived of 10 standard acres of permissible area without jurisdiction as he had not incurred any liability for the imposition of penalty. The case was remanded to the Collector for fresh determination of the surplus area in the hands of the heirs of Mool Chand who had died in the meantime. The concluding para of the judgment in civil petition No. 3211 of 1969 reads as under :-

(3.) As the petitioners had purchased 32 Kanals out of the entire holding of Mool Chand, they received a notice dated October 28, 1975 under Section 9(1) of the Punjab Land Reforms Act , 1962 for delivering the possession of the surplus area. The objections filed by them against the notice were rejected by the Collector vide order dated December 16, 1975 (Annexure P-1 to this writ petition). Further appeal and revision to the Commissioner and the Financial Commissioner respectively were also dismissed on February 5, 1979 and October 19, 1979 (Annexure P-2 and P-4 respectively). It may be observed here that on October 29, 1974 the surplus area which had been declared surplus earlier was allotted to Jit Singh and Mohan Singh. The petitioner challenged the orders of the Collector, Commissioner and Financial Commissioner referred to above as well as allotment of the surplus land to Jit Singh and Mohan Singh by way of the present writ petition.