STATE OF HARYANA Vs. GRAM PANCHAYAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a letters patent appeal against the judgment of the learned Judge dated 30th of April, 1976 in C.W.P. No. 1005 of 1976, wherein the learned Single Judge has held that rival claims have been made by the parties which in view of a Division Bench judgment of this Court in, C.W.P. No. 2198 of 1966, Dr. Shanti Saroop Sharma and another v. The State of Punjab and others, decided on 20th of May, 1969, deserves to be established in a Civil Court of competent jurisdiction.

(2.) The respondent Gram Panchayat filed a writ petition in this Court alleging that it owns 300 acres of land which is mostly ghairmumkin pahar, which used to be leased out by them every year, the last lease being in favour of respondent Nos. 2 and 3 for three years from 19th November, 1975, vide resolution No. 39 dated 8th of November, 1975. There was a sharat wajib-ul-arz relating to the year 1908-9, according to which the land belonged to the village community and it was mentioned therein that there was no mine of stone, metal, pathar, coal, golden sand, kankar and that a pahar is situate and that the Government could take stone without payment of any price.

(3.) It is further alleged that the Government issued notice, annexure P.3, for auctioning masonry stone in the land in dispute assuming the property to belong to the Government. The Gram Panchayat filed the writ petition to have the notice quashed on the allegation that under the wajib-ul-arz, the property vested in the Gram Panchayat and the State Government had no title in the same and as such could not issue the notice annexure P.3.