GURMIT RAM Vs. FINANCIAL COMMISSIONER REVENUE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioners' (five in numbers) father Bhana was tenant under Gurbax Singh on the land in dispute who was a big landlord. Bhana died in the year 1964 and petitioners succeeded to the tenancy and became tenants under Gurbax Singh. Gurbax Singh died in the year 1968. Respondents 4 to 12 inherited his estate including the land under the tenancy of the petitioners. The respondents 4 to 12 who came to be recognised as small land-owners, on 6th April, 1971, filed an application under Section 7-A of the Pepsu Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1955 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) for the ejectment of the petitioners.

(2.) First proviso to sub-section (1) of Section 7-A protects a tenant from ejectment unless he is allotted by the Government either an area equivalent in value of the area under his cultivation or five standard acres whichever is less.

(3.) The Assistant Collector, Ist Grade, Phagwara, vide his order dated 31st March, 1973 ordered petitioners' ejectment with the direction that each one of them shall be entitled to the allotment of an area of five standard acres by the State Government and they shall not be ejected unless such an area is allotted to them. The respondent-landowners went up in appeal before the Collector who partly accepted their appeal holding that tenancy being one, the petitioner-tenants shall be entitled for allotment by the Government in lieu of the land under their cultivation only one unit of 5 standard acres and not one unit of five standard acres each. Both i.e. tenants and the landlord went up in appeal before the Commissioner who rejected the appeal of the tenant-petitioners and allowed that of the respondent-landlords holding that since the petitioners were allotted 5 standard acres in the year 1966 by the State Government so they are not entitled to any further allotment of land and passed the order of their ejectment without making any provision of allotment of any land by the Government. The petitioner-tenants approached the Financial Commissioner in a revision who upheld the order of the Commissioner vide his order dated 4th September, 1975, and it is this order which is impugned on the writ side in C.W. No. 5648 of 1975.