BHAGWAN DASS Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This order will dispose of Letters Patent Appeal No. 338 of 1969 and Civil Writ No.3300 of 1969.

(2.) The appeal under Clause X of the Letter Patent is directed against the decision dated May 23, 1969 of a learned Single Judge of this Court. The learned Single Judge did not decide the Civil Writ out of which the present appeal has arisen on merits. He dismissed the writ petition with the following observations :-

(3.) Now we proceed to state the relevant facts. The scheme of consolidation was framed on 27th of August, 1961 by the Consolidation Officer. Petitioners filed objections to this scheme. Those objection were allowed on 20th of October, 1961 and the scheme was accordingly modified. This modification order was challenged by respondents 6 and 7 under Section 42 of the East Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation) Act, 1948. Their petition was dismissed by the Additional Director on 10th of February, 1964 and this order became final. In pursuance of the scheme as it finally emerged after the Additional Director's order dated 10th of February, 1964, repartition took place and according to the petitioners, they were correctly fitted. This repartition was objected to by respondent No. 9 and his objections were dismissed by the Consolidation Officer on 18th of June, 1962. He then preferred an appeal against that order and the appeal was dismissed on 5th of April, 1963. It was held in both these orders that the percentage of the petitioners was 60.11 and that percentage had been correctly fixed in the scheme. Respondents 6, 7 and 9 then moved the Additional Director under Section 21(4) of the Act in appeal. The Assistant Director allowed the appeal and fixed the percentage of the petitioners as 42.98. This order was passed on 30th of April, 1964 and as a consequence thereof the case was remanded to the Settlement Officer for refitting the petitioners. This order of the Assistant Director was challenged by the petitioners in a petition under Section 42 of the Act and that petition was ultimately rejected by the Additional Director on 28th of October, 1964. The petitioners then moved this Court in Civil Writ No. 1399 of 1965, which petition was filed on 30th of April, 1965. This petition has been dismissed by the learned Single Judge with the observations which have already been quoted.