BALWANT SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this petition under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India the five petitioners have questioned the validity of the order of the Collector declaring 39.7 Standard Acres of their land out of an holding of 69.57 Standard Acres as surplus land. The first four petitioners are the sons of the fifth petitioner, Nikka Singh.

(2.) It is asserted on behalf of the petitioners that they decided to enter into a family arrangement for partition of their holding in five equal shares about which an intimation was sent to this effect to the patwari on 5th of October, 1956, and a mutation sanctioning the partition was made on 25th of April 1957. As the land had been divided in five equal shares between the petitioners it is submitted that the aggregate area left in the possession of each single petitioner did not exceed the permissible limit and consequentially no area could be declared as surplus. Now under Section 32FF of the Pepsu Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1955, transfers made after the 21st of August 1956 are not to affect "the right of the State Government under this Act to the surplus area to which it would be entitled but for such transfer or disposition." This provision of law was inserted by Punjab Act No. 3 of 1959 and it was given retrospective operation inasmuch as the transfers and dispositions of land made before 21st of August, 1956 alone were saved from being taken into account in computation of surplus areas. It is submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioners that Section 32-KK of the Act, clause (b) of which states that "a partition of land owned by a Hindu undivided family ..................... shall be deemed to be a disposition of land for the purposes of Section 32-FF", inserted by Punjab Act No. 16 of 1962, was to come into force on 30th of October, 1956, and it does not therefore affect the validity of the partition which had taken place on 5th of October, 1956. It is no doubt true that the Pepsu Tenancy and Agricultural Lands (Amendment and Validation) Act, 1962 (Punjab Act No. 16 of 1962), the validity of which has been upheld by the recent Division Bench of this Court in Bhagat Gobind Singh v. Punjab State and others, 1963 65 PunLR 105 lays down that Sections 2, 4, 5, 7 and 10 shall come into force on 30th of October, 1956, and the newly inserted Section 32-KK is Section 7 of the amending Act. This cannot, however, shift the relevant date in Section 32-FF from 21st of August 1956 to 30th of October, 1956. At the most what can be said is that Section 32-FF is also given the commencing date of 30th October, 1956 and even so the transfers made after the 21st of August 1956 will not be saved. Clause (b) of Section 32-KK is clarifactory in nature in so far as it says that a partition of land owned by a Hindu undivided family shall be deemed to be a disposition of land. It can not thereby be inferred that such interpretation is to be given effect from 30th of October, 1956 and not from 21st of August 1956 which is the date specifically mentioned in Section 32-FF. As I said in Badlu etc. v. The State of Punjab (C.W. No. 17 of 1962 decided on 12-12-1962), substitution of 30th October, 1956 for 21st August, 1956 would amount to rewriting of Section 32-FF for which there is no warrant. It would be virtual repeal of "21st August 1956" and re-enacting of "30th October, 1956" in its stead in Section 32-FF without the least indication of legislative intendment to this effect.

(3.) In my opinion, there is no force in this petition which fails and is dismissed. As the principal point raised in the petition has been settled only recently by a Division Bench, I would leave the parties to bear their own costs.