PARVEEN KUMAR Vs. CUSTODIAN GENERAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) WRIT petition No. 162 of 1976 was filed against the orders of respondents

(2.) AND 3 rejecting the revision petition of the petitioner and accepting that of respondent No. 4 up - holding the allotment of a shop in favour of respondent No. 4. It was alleged by the petitioner before the authorities under the Evacuee Property Act that his allotment was cancelled without affording him a reasonable opportunity of being heard but the plea was rejected on the basis of the record available. The orders were challenged in the writ petition on the ground of their being illegal, arbitrary and having been passed without any basis and material. It was further submitted that no show cause notice was served upon the petitioner who had deposited the arrears of rent of the said shop since long and had produced the rent receipts before the respondent No. 2. The cancellation order was alleged to be contrary to the provisions of Rule 14 of the Rules framed under the Evacuee Property Act. It was alleged that the petitioner had never. Sublet the shop to Punoo Ram or to any other person. 2. During the pendancy of the writ petition, the counsel of respondent No. 4, S. Avtar Singh informed the court on 17 -11 -1987 that his Client was dead. Mr. Bakshi sought time to file an application for bringing on record his LRs. This CMP for bringing on record the LRs of the deceased respondent was ultimately filed in this court on .1. 12. 1987. It is submitted that the petitioner came to know about the death of deceased respondent on 17 -11 -1987 when time was granted to him to file the application for bringing deceaseds LRs on record It is alleged that the respondent No. 4 died leaving behind the -persons mentioned in para 4 of the petition as his legal representatives. In the objections filed on .behalf of the LRs of the deceased respondent it is submitted that Had Singh died on 19 -12 -1986 at Poonch and the petitioner along with his father accompanied the funeral procession and attended the death ceremonies of the deceased. The shops of the petitioner and his father are alleged to be in the same Bazar of Poonch where the shop in dispute is situated. In support of their rival contentions the parties have filed affidavits.

(3.) SH . Parveen Kumar in his affidavit has stated that his wife Smt. Vijay Lakshmi was ill and admitted in raina Maternity Home, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu on 18 -12 -1985 where he had come to look after his wife. He states to have remained at Jammu up till 15 -2 -1987. It is further submitted that he along with his father were at Jammu during the aforesaid period. It is further stated that neither the deponent, nor his father had any knowledge about the death of S. Hari Singh and were informed about his death only in title last week of November, 1987. Pardeep Kumar Malhotra has supported . -the case of the petitioner and stated on oath that the wife of the petitioner was ill and admitted in Raina Maternity Home, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu on 18 -12 -1986 Parveen Kumar, his wife and his father had come to Jammu and remained there upto 15 -2 -1987 in connection with the illness of Smt. Vijay Lakshmi. It is submitted that neither petitioner nor his fathers were present at Poonch when hari singh died. Pawan Kumar a resident of Udhampur has filed a similar affidavit in support of the averments made in the petition. Laxman Dass who is the father of the petitioner has supported the case of his son in his affidavit. In reply the respondents have filed the affidavit of Bodh Raj who has stated that he was the General Secretary of the Beopar Mandal Poonch and was the running a private Medical Practitioners shop in the main Bazar for the last 20 years. Hari Singh deceased was Ward President of Mohalla Khorinar Poonch and also was the vice President of Gurdawara Parbandak Committee Poonch, who died on 19.12 1986 in Poonch Hospital. Parveen Kumar petitioner was running the ready - made garments shop adjacent to the shop of Hari Singh and central wall of the two shops was common shami Kapoor brother of Parveen Kumar was also running a Manyari shop just opposite to the shop of Hari Singh. Hari Singh is claimed to be a popular social worker and staunch believer of the Hindu, Sikh and Muslim unity. The news of his death on 19 -12 -1986 is alleged to have spread like a jungle fire and sent waves of shock to every person and all the persons from Poonch irrespective of their caste and creed went to his house for condolance to his son S. Gurdev Singh. The deponent further states that he reached the gate of the deceaseds house where he met S/Shri Lachman Dass and Parveen Kumar who were coming out of the house of the deceased after offering their condolances. They are alleged to have had a conversation with the deponent and expressed their feelings by saying that the Poonch lost a very social and secular person sympathetic to every one. It is submitted that the death of deceased was also mentioned in Newspapers .including Daily Kashmir Times. The deponent joined the funeral procession which was accompanied by a number of persons including the petitioner,