NIRANJAN SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The facts giving rise to this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India by Niranjan Singh and his three sons against (1) The State of Punjab; (2) The Financial Commissioner, Punjab, (3) The Commissioner, Patiala Division, and (4) The Collector, Agrarian Reforms, Nabha; briefly stated are these :-

(2.) The petitioners alleged that the three orders annexures 'A', 'B' and 'D', referred to above were illegal, void and without jurisdiction, on the ground that the validating Act could only validate the orders which stood intact and not those orders which had been set aside by the High Court as in the present case and that their objection about the correct evaluation of the land should have been decided on merits as a part of their land which was only barani had been evaluated as chahi and more so when they had not been associated with the enquiry held regarding the valuation of their land and their objections regarding the valuation so done were never heard on merits.

(3.) The respondents in their written statement maintained that the case was remanded to the Collector for determining whether the petitioners formed a joint Hindu family or not and then to decide it in accordance with law. Since the case was remanded on one point, the petitioners could not raise new objections at this stage as the objections already taken in the first instance had been heard and disposed of. They further maintained that the value of the land was calculated in accordance with the rules framed under the Act and Niranjan Singh did not raise any objections in regard to the valuation of the land in his objection petition dated the 12th October, 1959, filed before the Collector.