DAULAT RAM Vs. FINANCIAL COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This judgment will dispose of Civil Writ Petition Nos. 919, 920, 921 and 922 of 1972, as the same questions of law and facts are involved in them.

(2.) Daulat Ram, petitioner, is a big land-owner. Certain lands belonging to him have been declared surplus. On 31st of July, 1963, the private respondents to these writ petitions being eligible tenants were resettled on certain portions of the land, which had been declared surplus with the petitioner. On 10th January, 1969, the petitioner-land-owner filed different applications against private respondents for their ejectment under Section 14-A(i) of the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953 (hereinafter called the Act) before the Assistant Collector Ist Grade, Sirsa, on the ground that the tenants had failed to pay the rent regularly without sufficient cause.

(3.) The tenants filed applications under Section 18 of the Act for the purchase of the land which comprised in their respective tenancims. Both the ejectment applications and the purchase applications were tried together. The petitioner-land-owner took the objection that the tenants had not completed six years continuous possession on the land in dispute and as such were not entitled to purchase the same. It was contended that the term "year" has been defined in sub-section (7) of Section 2 of the Act to mean the "agricultural year" as defined in sub-section (17) of Section 4 of the Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887 (hereinafter called the Tenancy Act). The Assistant Collector dismissing the ejectment applications and allowed the purchase applications vide his orderdated 8th May, 1970. The petitioner filed appeals against these orders allowing purchase and the same were allowed by the Collector on 16th December, 1970. He held that the tenants had not been in possession of the lands in dispute for more than six years. Aggrieved by these orders, the tenants filed appeals which were allowed by the Commissioner vide his order dated 23rd of April, 1971. He set aside the order passed by the Collector and restored the order passed by the Assistant Collector permitting the purchase by the tenants. Dissatisfied with the decision of the Commissioner, the petitioner filed revision petitions before the Financial Commissioner. They were dismissed by him on 27th of July, 1971.