BALBIR SINGH ETC Vs. FINANCIAL COMMISSIONER APPEALS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PETITIONERS , Balbir Singh and others, have challenged the legality of the orders passed respectively by the Collector (Agrarian), Ferozepur, on 22. 11. 1985; the Commissioner, Ferozepur Division, Ferozepur, on 24. 9. 1987; and the Financial Commissioner (Appeals), Punjab on 19. 8. 1993, under the Punjab Land Reforms Act, 1972. They have prayed for quashing of the impugned orders.

(2.) THE petitioners are vendees of the land measuring 194 Kanals which they purchased from respondent No. 4 Smt. Satinder Kaur by six separate registered sale deeds dated 5. 5. 1975. At that time, the land was being cultivated by the tenants, namely, Sada Kaur, Manjit Kaur, Darshan Singh and Surjit Kaur. Even as on 24. 1. 971, the land was being cultivated by these four persons.

(3.) AGGRIEVED by the order of the Collector, the petitioners filed an appeal before the Commissioner, Ferozepur Division, Ferozepur, and advanced the same argument which was made before the Collector. The Commissioner, Ferozepur Division, Ferozepur expressed his agreement with the finding recorded by the Collector and observed that the transactions effected by a big landowner between 24. 1. 1971 and 2. 4. 1973 can be excluded from the assessable area provided it is proved that they are bona fide and the transactions effected after 2. 4. 1973 have to be ignored. The Commissioner further observed that the sale deeds executed by the landowner in favour of the petitioners cannot be considered as bona fide and, therefore, the petitioners were not entitled to contend that this land should form part of the permissible area of the landowner. According to the Commissioner, the landowner never selected this land for being placed in her permissible area. The findings recorded by the Commissioner are as under: