BAL KISHAN Vs. KISHNU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The facts giving rise to the present Letter Patent Appeal may briefly be stated as follows : The land in dispute together with some of the land was originally evacuee property and 51 Standard Acres were allotted to Barkat Shah father of Sant Lal. Later on proprietary rights confirmed in due course. On 11th of December, 1956, vide registered sale-deed Exhibit PW 4/1, 11 Bihas and 4 Biswas of the land was sold by Sant Lal, defendant No. 1, in favour of Balkishan, defendant No. 2 for a sum of Rs. 4000/-. Kishnu claiming to be tenant of 4 Bighas and 6 Biswas of land, out of the land sold, filed a suit for possession by pre-emption on payment of Rs. 1035/-, being the proportionate amount of Rs. 2700/- which he claimed to have been actually paid. It was found as follows :-

(2.) It will be necessary to reproduce the provisions of law that are applicable. Before the Punjab Pre-emption (Amendment) Act, 1960 (Act 10 of 1960) came into force on 4th of February, 1960, under Section 15 a tenant had no superior right to pre-empt. By virtue of Section 17 of the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953, for the first time, such a right was given to a tenant. Relevant part of Section 17 is as follows :-

(3.) The position, therefore, boils down to this that on the date of the sale, in view of Section 19 as it existed then, Section 17 will not be applicable to the land which was the subject-matter of the sale because on the date of the enforcement of the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953, it was admittedly evacuee property as defined in the aforesaid Act and consequently the tenant, who had no right under Section 15 of the Punjab Pre-emption Act as it then existed, had also no superior right of pre-emption even under Section 17 of the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act.