JAMADAR UTTAM SINGH MASADA SINGH Vs. PUNJAB STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal under clause 10 of the Letters Patent raises the question whether the Director, consolidation of Holdings, was justified in reviewing an order passed by him under S. 42 of the Consolidation of Holdings Act of 1948.

(2.) During the course of consolidation proceedings in village Manga of the Hoshiarpur district a plot of land towards the east of a village-path was allotted to Ujagar Singh, Raja and Khushia respondents Nos. 2, 3 and 4 while two plots of land, one on the eastern side of the path and the other on the western side of the path were allotted to Uttam Singh petitioner. Uttam Singh objected to this allotment on the ground that his land had been split up into two portions by the path in question but these objections were overruled by the Consolidation Officer. On appeal by Uttam Singh the Settlement Officer directed that respondents 2 to 4 should be given land both on the eastern and western sides of the said path in lieu of the land which had already been allotted to them. The respondents preferred an appeal to the Additional Assistant Director but were unable to secure a reversal of the order passed by the Settlement Officer. Having failed to obtain the redress to which they considered themselves entitled, the respondents presented two applications to the Minister of Constitution of Holdings. The Minister forwarded one of these applications to the Director on 30-7-1947 and retained the other with himself. He sent for the records of the case and when he visited Hoshiarpur on 29-11-1957 he afforded a hearing to the landowners concerned in the presence of the Director. On 3-12-1957 he forwarded the second application presented by respondents Nos. 2 to 4 to the Director and asked the latter to dispose of the applications under S. 42 of the statute after affording the respondents an opportunity of being heard. On or about the 3rd December, therefore both the applications presented by respondents 2 to 4 to the Minister were in the hands of the Director. On the 26th March he dismissed the application which was forwarded to him by the Minister on 30-7-1957 by means of a short order which was in the following terms:

(3.) Section 42 of the Act of 1948 is in the following terms.