SUBE SINGH Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioners seek issuance of a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ, order or direction for quashing of the resolution dated 4.5.1991 and the order of the Commissioner and Secretary to Govt. Haryana dated 11.8.1992, Annexures P -l and P -2 respectively.

(2.) The Petitioners are residents of village Jagdishpur and claim themselves to be proprietors of the village and so have challenged the resolution passed by the Gram Panchayat, Annexure P -l, whereby the Gram Panchayat unanimously decided to gift the land approximately measuring 57 acres in favour of Krishi Vigyan Kendra, a constituent of Haryana Agriculture University, Hissar. It is the case of the petitioners that no such resolution was passed by the Gram Panchayat and otherwise too the resolution stated to have been passed was not in conformity with the provisions of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Rules, 1964 (for short 'the Rules') and so the gifting away of 57 acres of land by invoking the power in terms of Rule 13 of the Rules was liable to be set aside on the short ground that gifting of the valuable property of the gram panchayat was to achieve no tangible benefit to the inhabitants of the village. Otherwise too, the land being part of char an of the village, the same could not be gifted as it would deprive the inhabitants of the village from the use.

(3.) Pursuant to the notice of motion issued by the Court separate written statements have been filed by respondents No. 3 and 4 justifying the action taken by the Gram Panchayat as well as approval by the Commissioner. Respondent No. 4 in his reply raised two preliminary objections namely that the writ petition raises disputed questions of facts which cannot be matter of adjudication and so the petition deserves to be dismissed on this ground; secondly, that the petitioners have not disclosed the basis for challenging the valid orders passed by the authorities concerned. On merit it has been stated that the land in dispute is owned by the Gran Panchayat and that the Gram Panchayat vide resolution, Annexure P -l, decided to gift away the land in favour of Krishi Vigyan Kendra and the action so taken is as per its powers under Rule 13 of the Rules. Accordingly, necessary permission too had been granted by the concerned authority and so there is no infirmity in the action taken by the Gram Panchayat nor the same is violative of the provisions of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961 (for short 'the Act') and the Rules.