MANGTU Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The challenge in the Writ Petition referred to above as also in Civil Writ Petition No. 840 of 1977 (Ram Kumar v. The State of Haryana and others) was to the order of ejectment passed against the petitioners under section 7(2) of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act').

(2.) The case of the petitioners was that though the land in question belonged to the Gram Panchayat, but they had been in possession thereof for the last over 50 years on payment of only nominal rent and their status consequently thereon was that of occupancy tenants. No order of ejectment could, therefore, have been passed against them. This claim was founded upon the provisions of Section 3(4)(ii) of the Act. In order, however, to render this provision of law applicable, it must be established not only that the possession of the land was for more than 12 years before the commencement of the Act but this possession was without payments of rent or payment of charges not exceeding land revenue and the cesses payable thereon.

(3.) According to the case as put forth by the petitioners, they were not in possession of the land without payment of rent nor has it been alleged that what were paying as rent were charges which did not exceed land revenue or cesses payably on this land. The nominal rent as paid by the petitioners cannot be construed to mean that it was less than the land revenue and cesses payable on the land.