GANPAT SINGH Vs. FINANCIAL COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner's claim for the purchase of land under Section 18 of the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953 (for short, the Act) was allowed by the Assistant Collector Ist Grade, Jhajjar on 1.6.1968 vide annexure P. 1. This order was later upheld by the Collector and the Commissioner on appeal and revision. However, the Financial Commissioner vide his impugned order dated 25.10.1978 Annexure P. 4 negatived his claim with the following observations :

(2.) A bare reading of this section indicates that the officer competent to utilise the surplus area - the fact that C.R.O. was such a competent officer is not disputed before me - can after a summary enquiry separate the surplus area of a person from his reserved area after the completion of the consolidation proceedings to which the area of that landowner might have been subjected. What can be done by the competent officer under this sub-section is that he can separate the two blocks of lands, i.e. the area allotted in lieu of the surplus area and the area allotted in lieu of his permissible or reserved area. He cannot change the nature of the land in the sense that he can treat the surplus area as reserved area of the landowner. Further it is patent that while passing the said order, no notice or hearing of any sort was afforded to the petitioner who was undoubtedly a person concerned in the matter. Thus this order is obviously not binding on the petitioner.

(3.) In the light of the above-noted factual and legal position, I am of the opinion that the learned Financial Commissioner has wrongly failed to exercise the jurisdiction vested in him i.e. has wrongly declined to decide the petition before him on merits.