BHAGWAN SINGH LAL SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) MANGAL Singh, husband of respondents Nos. 3 and 4, father of respondents No. 5 and 6, and grandfather of respondents Nos. 7 to 9, owned considerable agricultural land in village Laut, Tehsil Nabha District Patiala, out of which an area of 19. 43 standard acres was declared as surplus under Section 32 D of the Pepsu tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1955 (Act No. 13 of 1955), hereinafter referred to as the Act, by an order of the Collector Nabha dated the 5th January, 1960. An appeal against that order preferred by Mangal Singh having been dismissed by the Commissioner Patiala Division on the 21st August, 1960, final statement of the surplus area in the prescribed form (Annexure P. 1) was published in the Punjab Gazette on the 23rd September, 1960, and in accordance with the provisions of Section 32-E of the Act, the surplus area in the hands of mangal Singh was deemed to have been acquired by the State for public purposes from that day extinguishing all rights, title and interest of Mangal Singh at that time. Subsequently, according to the Utilisation of Surplus Area Scheme framed by the State under Section 52-J of the Act, this surplus land was allotted to the petitioners Bhagwan Singh and others being landless persons. Before Mangal singh could be dispossessed of surplus area he died on the 11th April 1961. It was thereafter on the 15th June, 1961, that the possession of the surplus area was taken.

(2.) SUBSEQUENTLY, the respondents 3 to 9, being the heirs of Mangal Singh, applied to the Collector for reviewing the order under which the surplus area in the hands of Mangal Singh had been assessed and prayed for restoration of the possession of the surplus area to them on the plea that after the death of Mangal Singh the entire land left by him vested in them and no part of it could be considered as surplus in their hands. Their application having been rejected by the Collector, the respondents 3 to 9 went up in revision. Their petition was accepted by the financial Commissioner Shri E. N. Mangat Rai on the 11th February, 1964, who held that since possession of the land in dispute had been taken after the death of mangal Singh, in view of the amendment of Section 32-E of the Act effected by Act no. 16 of 1962, the land had not vested in the Government during the lifetime of mangal Singh and his heirs having succeeded to it there was in effect no surplus area. He, accordingly, remanded the case to the Collector Nabha with the following directions :

(3.) THIS time the present petitioners Bhagwan Singh and others felt aggrieved and they moved the Financial Commissioner for reviewing this order. Shri Saroop krishan, before whom this review petition came up, endorsed the view that his predecessor Shri E. N. Mangat Rai had taken and refused to interfere. Having thus failed to obtain redress from the Revenue Authorities the petitioners Bhagwan singh and others have approached this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution for a writ of certiorari quashing the orders of the Financial Commissioners dated the 11th February, 1964, and 28th July, 1964.