MAHESH KUMAR Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners, who are legal representatives/heirs of the big land owner Sh.Brij Bhushan Sharan, pray for the issuance of a writ in the nature of Certiorari for quashing of the orders dated 15.11.1983 and 28.2.1985 (Annexures P-4 and P-5) passed by the Commissioner, Ambala Division, Ambala and the Financial Commissioner, Haryana respectively.

(2.) BRIJ Bhushan Sharan was the owner of 112 Std. Acres and 7 units of agricultural land situated in different villages of Tehsil Jagadhri. As he was a big land owner, within the meaning of the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Punjab Act'),the Collector, Agrarian, Jagadhri vide order dated 12.12.1960 determined his surplus/permissible area and held that as 97 std. acres 1/4 units of land were under old tenants and was therefore tenants permissible area, the big landowner would only be entitled to a permissible area of 15 std. acres 6.3/4 units despite his statutory entitlement as a big landowner to a permissible area of 30 std. acres.

(3.) DURING the pendency of these proceedings, the big land owner passed away on 11.4.1977 and bequeathed his entire property, by way of a Will dated 26.1.1970, to the petitioners. The petitioners asserting that as the big landowner had passed away and the surplus area proceedings were still pending under the Punjab Act, they were entitled to a redetermination of the surplus area in their hands as heirs of Brij Bhushan Sharan, filed an application before the Collector. The Collector, Agrarian allowed this application vide order dated 16.9.1982 and redetermined the surplus area in the hands of the petitioners.