BALBIR SINGH Vs. CHIEF SETTLEMENT COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) , C&S (Reh.) This is a petition under section 33 of the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act, 1954 against the order dated 31.8.93 passed by the Chief Settlement Commissioner, Haryana.

(2.) BRIEFLY , the facts of the case are that the respondent No. 3 Shri Ganga Singh was allotted 13-2 S.A. of land in Patti Tarif Rajputana and Patti Tarf Insar Panipat in lieu of the land left by him in Pakistan. This allotment was approved by the Government on 21.5.84. Subsequently the petitioner Sh. Balbir Singh purchased a portion of the above land comprised in Khasra No. 4760 situated at Tarf Insar Panipat vide a registered sale deed dated 25.5.85 for a consideration of Rs. 40,000/-. The petitioner has filed the present petition with regard to this land. Subsequently, the Tehsildar (Sales) Karnal made a reference to the Chief Settlement Commissioner Haryana in the year 1989 for cancellation of the allotment of the entire land made in the name of Shri Ganga Singh which was approved by the Government on 21.5.84. It was stated in the reference that Sh. Ganga Singh was eligible for the allotment of Ist grade land as per his claim but he was allotted sub-urban land without any specific orders of the Chief Settlement Commissioner. The allotee was to be given the land in the village of Ist grade and if no such land was available in the village, then the same should have been given in some other village. Panipat being fast developing town, the land there was not allotable. Based on the above recommendation of the Tehsildar (Sales) Karnal, the Chief Settlement Commissioner, Haryana cancelled the allotment of Sh. Ganga Singh vide orders dated 31.8.93. The petitioners Sh. Balbir Singh being a bona fide purchaser of the portion of land allotted to Shri Ganga Singh has challenged the above orders of the Chief Settlement Commissioner in the form of present petition.

(3.) I have considered the submissions made by the parties to the case and also gone through the relevant record available on the file. The petitioner has sought the quashing of the impugned order vis-a-vis his claim of the land in dispute on the ground of being a bona fide purchaser. A perusal of the facts of the case reveals that an area of 43 Canals was allotted to the respondent No. 3 in the satisfaction of his claim in Patti Rajputana and Tarf Insar Panipat. The allotment was approved by the Government on 21.5.84. The original allottee Sh. Ganga Singh respondent No. 3 through his attorney, sold the land further to a number of persons. The petitioner Shri Balbir Singh was one of such purchasers who purchased the land in dispute on 29.5.85. He has been in possession of this land since then. It is well established that the petitioner is a bona fide purchaser for a consideration. His right is protected under section 41 of the Transfer of Property Act as held by the Division Bench of Hon'ble High Court in 1986 PLJ 656. The petitioner has also referred to a number of other such judgments, the latest judgment being in CWP No. 1958 of 1981 delivered on 6.2.96. It has been held therein that a consistent view has been taken by the Courts that when an original allottee sold the property to the bona fide purchaser for consideration he cannot be made to suffer. The rights of such innocent purchaser are protacted under Section 41 of the Transfer of Property Act. The ratio of the Judgments in the cases reported as 1978 PLJ 47 and 1976 PLR 475 is fully applicable in the instant case. In view of the above legal position, the impugned order is not sustainable and is therefore set aside as far as it relates to the claim of the petitioner. To be communicated.