HARINDER SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A policy decision was taken by the State of Punjab as contained in its letter of July 10, 1979, Annexure R/1, that unauthorised occupants of inferior evacuee land may be transferred such land if they have been in continuous cultivating possession thereof since Rabi-1976. The petitioner Harinder Singh seeking to claim the benefit of this decision, applied for the transfer of the land held by him on the plea that it was inferior evacuee land and it had been in his possession since Rabi-1976.

(2.) It appears that the case of the petitioner for the transfer of such land was recommended by the Tehsildar, Ajnala and the transfer was thereafter approved by the Collector, Ajnala, by the order of March 29, 1980 and the petitioner paid the requisite price of this land in instalment and also obtained a certificate of ownership from Sub-Divisional Officer, Ajnala. No sale-deed, the petitioner complained, was however, prepared for the land to be registered in his name despite his repeated requests to the authorities concerned. He consequently sought a direction that the sale deed in respect of his land be got prepared and it be registered.

(3.) A reading of the relevant instructions, as set out, in the letter of July 10, 1979, Annexure R/1 and June 5, 1981, Annexure R/2 would show that the competent authority to transfer the land is the Deputy Commissioner, not the Collector or the Sub Divisional Officer and further that it is only 'inferior evacuee land' which can be so transferred. Admittedly, in this case, no application for transfer was made to the Deputy Commissioner nor was any order passed by him for the transfer of this land to the petitioner. In other words, the order passed in favour of the petitioner regarding the transfer of this land was not made by the competent authority and this being so, no direction can be issued that a sale-deed be executed in favour of the petitioner.