DES RAJ ALIAS DESO Vs. FINANCIAL COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner has filed the instant petition under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India for issuance of a writ in the nature of certiorari for quashing the order dated 17.11.1997 (Annexure P-6) passed by the Financial Commissioner, Revenue, Punjab, Chandigarh, vide which he has accepted the review application filed by respondents No. 2 and 3 for reviewing the order dated 19.4.1993 passed by him.

(2.) THE brief facts of the case are that respondents No. 2 and 3 are the landlords and the petitioner is an ejected tenant. The aforesaid respondents filed separate ejectment applications against the petitioner under Section 9(1)(i) of the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') claiming themselves to be small land owners. The petitioner was ordered to be ejected from the land measuring 3 kanals owned by respondent No. 3 vide order dated 21.8.1978 and from 2 kanals 13 marlas of land owned by respondent No. 2 vide order dated 21.6.1979 on the grounds that the aforesaid respondents were the small land owners. The aforesaid ejectment orders were subject to re-settlement of the petitioner on equivalent available land from the surplus pool. The Collector (Agrarian), Gurdaspur, vide his order dated 14.4.1981 allotted the equivalent land to the petitioner from the surplus pool but the petitioner himself got the said allotment cancelled by saying that the said land is of inferior quality and of lessor value. For the second time, the allotment of equivalent land from the surplus pool was again made in favour of the petitioner vide order dated 15.11.1989, but again the petitioner himself got the said allotment cancelled on the same ground by making an application dated 11.1.1990 (Annexure R2/1). In the said application, the petitioner submitted that the land allotted to him in Village Kahnuwan vide order dated 15.11.1989 was of very low price and of poor quality and the same is about 20 Kms. away from his residence. In that application, he also prayed that some surplus lands of big land owners which are to be allotted to the ejected tenant are also available in Village Gurdaspur and Village Aujla. He gave specific Khasra numbers of the land available for allotment in both these Villages, from which he requested that he may be allotted the land, as he is only to be allotted 5 Kanals 13 marlas of land.

(3.) AGAINST that order, the petitioner filed a revision petition before the Financial Commissioner by submitting that he should be allotted the land in Village Gurdaspur. He submitted that though the said land is in possession of the Armed Forces but their possession is of temporary nature and he will take the actual physical possession of the land when the Armed Forces will vacate the same, therefore, he should be allotted the land at Village Gurdaspur. The learned Financial Commissioner, vide his order dated 19.4.1993 (Annexure P-3), allowed the revision petition filed by the petitioner, while observing as under :-