KESHO DASS Vs. FINANCIAL COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This judgment will dispose of two petitions (Civil Writ Nos. 2312 and 2313 of 1967, Kesho Dass v. Financial Commissioner, Haryana and others) as the facts and the points of law arising for decision are the same.

(2.) Kesho Dass petitioner is a displaced person from West Pakistan and he was allotted 219 ordinary acres equal to 63.75 standard acres of land, out of which he transferred one-half of the land to his son, Thakar Dass, petitioner No. 2, in pursuance of a civil Court decree dated the 1st of December, 1956. Thus, petitioner No. 1 was left with about 22 standard acres of land. It is asserted by the petitioners that on the 1st of December, 1956, the date of transfer of half of the land in favour of petitioner No. 2, respondent Nos. 2 and 3 were not holding any tenancy under the petitioners and for this reason the said transfer was not hit by the provisions of section 6 of the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953 (hereinafter called the Act). This fact is, however, denied by the respondents.

(3.) By order dated June 10, 1961, the Collector, Surplus Area, Hissar, declared 112.84 ordinary acres (37.52 standard acres) as petitioner No. 1's surplus area. The appeal filed against that order was accepted by the Commissioner on August 29, 1961, and the case was remanded to the Collector for a fresh decision with the direction that petitioner No. 1 was entitled to 50 standard acres and his permissible area should be determined in standard acres after affording him an opportunity to present his case, Even after the remand, the Collector stuck to his previous view that the petitioner was entitled to a permissible area of 100 ordinary acres only and declared 43.63 ordinary acres as surplus. Kesho Dass petitioner filed an appeal against that order before the Commissioner, who submitted the case to the Financial Commissioner for permission to review his predecessor's order as, in his opinion, the petitioner was not entitled to a permissible area of 50 standard acres but only to 100 ordinary acres. The permission to review was granted by the Financial Commissioner and thereafter the Commissioner dismissed the appeal and upheld the Collector's order. Kehso Dass filed an appeal before the Financial Commissioner, which was accepted on May 4, 1966, and the case was sent back to the Collector with the following directions :-