ANTU Vs. COLLECTOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This judgment shall dispose of C.W.P. No. 9856 to 9872 of 2006 as all these writ petitions arise out of the same orders of even date passed by the Assistant Collector, 1st. Grade-cum-District Development & Panchayat Officer, Yamuna Nagar and the Collector, Yamuna Nagar. For the sake of convenience the facts are being extracted from C.W.P. No. 9856 of 2006.

(2.) The challenge in the writ petition is to the order (Annexure P6) passed by the Assistant Collector, 1st Grade-cum-District Development and Panchayat Officer, Yamuna Nagar, dated 27.3.2006 and the order (Annexure P-7) passed by the Collector, Yamuna Nagar, dated 13.6.2006.

(3.) The Gram Panchayat Bihta Block Bilaspur, District Yamuna Nagar, filed an application under Section 7(2) of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961 (for short 'the Act') for ejectment of the present petitioners being in illegal occupation of the Panchayat land. The Gram Panchayat had prayed that penalty be also imposed on the petitioners (respondents in the application). The Assistant Collector 1st Grade, Yamuna Nagar, found that the petitioners were in illegal possession of the suit land and, accordingly, vide his order (Annexure P-6) dated 27.3.2006 ordered the ejectment of the petitioners from the land in dispute with immediate effect. A penalty at the rate of Rs. 10,000/- per hectare per annum was also imposed. The petitioners challenged the order of the Assistant Collector, 1st Grade before the Collector, Yamuna Nagar, who vide his order Annexure P-7 dismissed the appeal as the petitioners had not deposited the amount of penalty.