KAKA SINGH Vs. STATE OF HARYANA AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This order shall dispose of six petitions bearing CWP No.14024 of 2008 titled as "Kaka Singh Vs. State of Haryana and others" , CWP No.15343 of 2008 titled as "Harbhajan Singh and another Vs. State of Haryana and others" , CWP No.15356 of 2008 titled as "Roshan Lal and others Vs. State of Haryana and others" , CWP No.20567 of 2008 titled as "Kulwant Singh and another Vs. State of Haryana and others" , CWP No.23518 of 2010 titled as "Sant Ram and others Vs. State of Haryana and others" and CWP No.15864 of 2008 titled as "Ram Babu and others Vs. State of Haryana and others" as the issues involved in all the six petitions are common. However, for the sake of convenience, the petition bearing CWP No.14024 of 2008 is being kept as the lead case.

(2.) The brief history of this case is that the Municipal Committee, Ambala Sadar filed a petition under Sections 5 and 7 of the Haryana Public Premises and Land (Eviction and Rent Recovery) Act, 1972 (for short 'the Act') against the petitioner alleging that the land in question vests in Haryana Government and is being looked after by the Municipal Committee, Ambala Sadar. It is alleged that the disputed land was given to the petitioner for agricultural purposes for a period of one year and the lease was thereafter extended from time to time upto 31.03.1982 by the Municipal Committee. The land was acquired by Municipal Committee for public welfare, lease deed was not renewed after 01.04.1982, notice was given to the petitioner for releasing its possession and since they had not done so, therefore, petition was filed for seeking possession by way of eviction and for recovery of damages of compensation for illegal use and occupation. The application was allowed by the Collector, Ambala on 28.02.1986. Aggrieved against the said order, a statutory appeal was filed before the Divisional Commissioner. The said appeal was allowed on 15.10.1986 and the order of the Collector was set aside. The matter was remitted back to the Collector, Ambala for reconsideration with certain directions. The respondent-Municipal Committee did not abide by the directions contained in the order dated 15.10.1986 and as such the proceedings before the Collector died its own death and become redundant. Again a controversy was raked up by the respondent, by an application dated 21.09.1984 filed under Sections 5 and 7 of the Act for eviction and recovery of compensation and this time an application was filed by Municipal Committee, Ambala Sadar, through its Executive Officer. The application was contested by the petitioner but it was allowed by the Collector on 13.02.2008 holding that the land in question came to vest in the State Government in terms of letter dated 05.02.1977 issued by the Central Government and is under the management of the Municipal Committee, Ambala Sadar over which the petitioner has been found to be in possession since 1982. He was thus ordered to be evicted and was directed to pay lease amount with interest @ 8% to Municipal Committee since 1982.

(3.) Aggrieved against the said order, the petitioner filed the statutory appeal under Sec. 9 of the Act before the Commissioner, Ambala Division, Ambala. The said appeal was dismissed on 13.02.2008 and hence the present petition in which notice of motion was issued on 18.08.2008 and dispossession of the petitioner was stayed.