KISHORI LAL JAGAT RAM Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this writ petition the Petitioners have assailed order dated 21 -12 -1991 (Annexure PQ) of Secretary (Relief and Rehabilitation) to the Government of Himachal Pradesh exercising the powers of Central Government under Section 33 of Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act, 1954 (hereinafter called 'the Act') whereby their revision petition was dismissed and the order dated 6 -1 -1990 (Annexure PO) passed by the Chief Settlement Commissioner (Relief and Rehabilitation) Government of Himachal Pradesh, Shimla was confirmed. The Chief Settlement Commissioner had allowed the appeal under Section 23 of the Act filed by Respondents 7 to 12 and quashed the order dated 21 -3 -1988 of Settlement Commissioner, Rehabilitation Himachal Pradesh vide which he had rejected the objections of Respondents 7 to 11 and the sale of the property in dispute conducted by Naib Tehsildar (Sales) on 27 -2 -1988 was upheld and confirmed. The Chief Settlement Commission had further ordered that the amount of sale deposited by the Petitioners/auction purchasers shall be refunded to them and the sale of the property in dispute shall be conducted afresh after publishing in atleast two daily Newspapers -one English and one Hindi wherein the exact area and des cription of the property shall be given. He had further directed that the property in dispute shall be got valuated afresh and reserve price will be fixed by the Sub -Divisional Officer (Civil) -cum -Settlement Officer (Sales), Shimla within a period of four months.

(2.) THE facts in brief are that there is a building known as 'Exchange Building' situated on The Mall, Shimla, which was a Muslim evacuee pro perty. It consists of several shops and flats for business and residential purposes. One half of this building belonged to one Khan Bahadur Inayatullah, who migrated to Pakistan, which is the property in dispute. The other half of the building is Muslim Wakf property and belongs to the Kashmiri Mosque administered by the trustees of the Muslim Trust Properties which has now been substituted by the Punjab Wakf Board.

(3.) THEREAFTER it was on 2 -2 -1988 that an auction notice (Annexure PD) for the sale of the property in dispute was published in Hindi News paper 'Punjab Kesari' on behalf of Naib -Tehsildar (Sales) -cum -Managing Officer, Shimla. As per -this notice, auction was fixed on 27 -2 -1988 at 11.00 am. on the spot. The highest bidder was to deposit 1/4th of the bid money on the spot after the close of the bid. Other conditions of auction were to be announced on the spot. The spot was fixed in front of Sher -e -Punjab, The Mall, Shimla where the persons interested in participating in the auction were to remain present.