MOHAN SINGH Vs. JOINT DEVELOPMENT COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This order shall dispose of Civil Writ Petition Nos.1930 and 1982 of 2016 as common questions of law and facts are involved in both these petitions. For brevity, the facts are being extracted from For Subsequent orders see CWP -1982 -2016 CWP No.1930 of 2016.

(2.) The petitioners are residents of village Raipur Khurd, Tehsil and District SAS Nagar Mohali. They are said to have purchased the land from the vendees of Gurvinder Singh son of Jagdev Singh and Bhagwant Singh son of Siha Singh who are residents of village Jhinjran, Tehsil and District Fatehgarh Sahib. Gurvinder Singh and Bhagwant Singh instituted a petition under Section 11 of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961 (for short, 'the 1961 Act') claiming themselves to be owners in possession of the land which was fully described in the head -note of their petition and situated within the revenue estate of village Jhinjran, Tehsil and District Fatehgarh Sahib. Their petition was allowed by the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) -cum -Collector, Fatehgarh Sahib vide order dated 26.03.2002. The aggrieved Gram Panchayat filed statutory appeal but that was also dismissed. Still aggrieved, the Gram Panchayat approached this Court through Civil Writ Petition Nos.15737, 15738 and 15744 of 2007 which were allowed in part by way of a consent order to the extent that the appellate orders were set -aside and the matter was remitted to the Appellate Authority for afresh adjudication of the appeal(s).

(3.) Vide the impugned order dated 26.03.2015, the Appellate Authority has allowed the Gram Panchayat appeal(s) by way of a common order which is now under challenge in the instant writ petition(s).