SAWARN SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a writ petition by two brothers Swaran Singh and Bishan Singh under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India praying for issuance of an appropriate writ for quashing the order of respondent No. 2, the Financial Commissioner dated 31st of October, 1966, of respondent No. 3, the Commissioner dated 1st of March, 1966, and of respondent No. 4, the Special Collector, Punjab, dated the 11th May, 1965. The Punjab State is the first respondent and Mahant Gurnarain is respondent No. 5. The contesting respondent is No. 6, Jagga.

(2.) The petitioners' case is that Mahant Gurnarain, respondent No. 5 owned 182 standard acres and 11-1/4 units of land in different villages in the districts of Ambala, Hoshiarpur and Jullundur. The Special Collector by his order dated 3rd of March, 1961, declared an area of 132 standard acres 11-1/4 units as surplus with respondent No. 5 after allowing 50 standard acres to respondent No. 5 as his permissible area. This was done under the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953. In this writ, the petition is confined to land in village Dosanjh Kalan in which respondent No. 5 held 13 standard acres and 1-1/2 units of land. The Special Collector had included the entire land in this village in the surplus pool. The Circle Revenue Officer utilised the surplus area in the village and allotted it to the two petitioners and respondent No. 7 and gave them possession of this land on 15th June, 1961, in accordance with rule 20 of the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Rules, 1956. It may be mentioned that the petitioners were never the tenants of Mahant Gurnarain. They were the tenants of some other landowners and they were ejected because the land of which they were the tenants had become part of the reserved area of their landowners.

(3.) On 7th of September, 1961, an application was made by the petitioners to the Special Collector that while re-determining the surplus area of Mahant Gurnarain, respondent No. 5, the petitioners should also be heard. Without disposing of this petition, the Special Collector passed an ex parte order against the petitioners exempting the entire area in the village Dosanjh Kalan as permissible area of respondent No. 6 and his brother Meet Singh who was stated to be living in England for the last 16 years. The petitioners contended that respondent No. 6 and his brother Meet Singh were not the tenants of this land on the crucial date i.e. 15th of April, 1953, the date of coming into force of the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act. The petitioners filed an appeal before the Commissioner which was dismissed and they were also unsuccessful in their revision petition before the Financial Commissioner.