BHANWAR LAL Vs. FINANCIAL COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This order will dispose of Civil Writ Petition Nos. 2938 of 1967, 736, 737, 738, 739, 740, 741 and 742 of 1968 as common questions of law and facts are involved in these petitions.

(2.) The petitioners are big land-owners. Their tenants (who are the non-official respondents in these writ petitions) filed applications under Section 18 of the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953 (hereinafter called the Act), for the purchase of lands, which were under their cultivation and which comprised their respective tenancies. The Assistant Collector Ist Grade, Hissar, allowed these applications and the applicants were permitted to purchase the areas of their respective tenants. The petitioners filed appeals against these orders which were dismissed by the Collector, Hissar. The revision petitions filed by the petitioners also met the same fate. The Financial Commissioner also dismissed the revision petitions filed by the present petitioners to him against the orders of the Revenue Authorities. Dissatisfied with these orders, the petitioners have filed these petitions and assailed the orders passed by the Revenue Authorities.

(3.) Mr V.M. Jain, the learned counsel for the petitioners, has contended that the petitioners had reserved their permissible areas in 1953. Again, in 1958 within the due date, the petitioners selected their permissible areas; that the authorities could not declare the areas reserved and/or selected by the petitioners. In any case, it is contended that the areas which have been allowed to be purchased formed part of the permissible area of the petitioners. It was also contended that even if the authorities did not accept the reservation or the selection made by the petitioner-land-owners, they were duty bound under Section 5-B(2) of the Act to select the permissible area of the petitioners.