BHAGAT GOBIND SINGH Vs. FINANCIAL COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This order will dispose of Civil Writ 1215 of 1964 (Bhagat Gobind Singh v. Financial Commissioner and others), Civil Writ No. 540 of 1965 (Sarwan Singh and others v. The State and others) and Civil Writ 714 of 1965 (Smt. Beant Kaur v. The State and others) because common questions of law and fact arise therein.

(2.) The father of the petitioner (Bhagat Gobind Singh) owned 53 standard acres in villages Paddi Jagir and Bir Sher Singh in the present Punjab even before 1947. On the partition of the Indian Sub-continent, in lieu of the land left by him in West Pakistan, he was allotted 43 standard acres in 1949. He died leaving behind 96 standard acres. On the death of his father, 48 standard acres came to the petitioner's share in 1949. Between March 15, 1958 and July 14, 1958, the petitioner made six sales of different parcels of his land in favour of respondents 4 to 18, that is, before the expiry of the period within which he could make a selection of his permissible area under Section 5-A of the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953 (hereinafter called 'the Act'). The Collector on July 7, 1961, however, fixed the permissible area of the landowner and included in it, 21 standard acres and 10-1/2 units that had been sold by him to the aforesaid respondents, thus leaving in actual possession of the petitioner, only 8 standard acres and 5-1/2 units. Against that order of the Collector, the petitioner's appeal was dismissed by Commissioner on September 1, 1961, with the observation that "the Collector had a discretion vested in him to determine as to which part or the land held by the appellant on the date of the commencement of the Act was to be placed in surplus pool, and which was to be left with the landowner." The petitioner went in revision before the Financial Commissioner, who dismissed the same on December 23, 1961, saying that there was no impropriety or illegality in the proceedings of the Subordinate Revenue Officers. Bhagat Gobind Singh moved the High Court by Civil Writ 68 of 1962 under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution for impugning those orders of the Revenue Officers and Financial Commissioner. The writ petition was allowed on November 6, 1962 and is reported as ) (Bhagat Gobind Singh v. Punjab State and others, 1962 PunLJ 125).

(3.) One of the points contended before the Division Bench was whether in the absence of fraud or misrepresentation or deceit, the Financial Commissioner was justified in including the transferred area in the permissible area of the landowner, when such transfers had been made before the expiry of the period within which the landlord could make the reservation or selection under Section 5-A. Mehar Singh, J. (as he then was), with whom concurred, answered this question as under :-