JIWANI Vs. FINANCIAL COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition for a writ of certiorari directed against the order passed by the Financial Commissioner, Planning, Punjab, in the exercise of his revisional jurisdiction on 22nd of August, 1964, raises questions of reservation and the resettlement of tenants of surplus lands.

(2.) Before dealing with the tangled skein of this protracted and somewhat confusing litigation it would be useful to consider the relevant provisions pertaining to the question involved in this petition. In the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Supplementary Rules, 1956, this subject is dealt with in Part IV under the heading of "Resettlement of tenants ejected or liable to ejectment". Applications for the dispossession of tenants liable to ejectment under clause (i) of sub-section (1) of Section 9 of the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act have to be made to the Assistant Collector, I Grade, in the prescribed manner and this officer under sub-rule (4) of rule 13, after hearing the parties, has to record his finding on :-

(3.) These rules were amended during the pendency of these proceedings on 19th of August, 1960, though the relevant provisions are still contained in rule 13 of Part IV. The application has still to be made to the Assistant Collector who has to summon the parties in the same way but the forwarding of the case to the Circle Revenue Officer is made optional. The Assistant Collector, after giving his findings shall "where necessary, forward the case to the Circle Revenue Officer for resettlement or where resettlement is not necessary, dispossess the tenant". Under sub-rule (3) of rule 13, "the Circle Revenue Officer shall, on receipt of the case, under sub-rule (2) proceed to record his finding with respect to the matters specified in clauses (c) and (d) of rule 17". In the Security of Land Tenures Act, the liability of tenant to be ejected is dealt with in Section 9, sub-section (1) of which says that -