PUSHARAM Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition under Art. 226 of the Constitution has been filed against the order passed by the Additional Colonisation Commissioner, Rajasthan cum-Revenue Appellate Authority, Rajasthan Colonisation Project, Bikaner (hereinafter called 'the Appellate Authority') dated July 9, 1974, by which the appeal filed by the petitioner, against the order of the Assistant Colonisation Commissioner, Rajasthan Canal Project, Sri Vijaynagar, District Sri Ganganagar, (hereinafter referred to as 'the Allotting Authority') rejecting his application for allotment of land has been dismissed.

(2.) THE petitioner, Phoosa Ram, submitted an application for allotment of 25 bighas of agricultural land under the Rajasthan Colonisation {allotment of Government Land to Post-1955 Temporary Cultivation Leaseholders and Other Landless Persons in Rajasthan Canal Project Area) Rules, 1971 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Rules') before the Allotting Authority on the ground that he was a bonafide resident of Rajasthan since before 1955 and that he was granted a temporary allotment of 25 bighas of land in square No. 298/411 in Chak No. 24 APD in the year 1970-71 under the Rajasthan Colonisation (Temporary Leases) conditions, 1955 (hereinafter called 'the Conditions') and that he was continuously cultivating the aforesaid land since then. THE petitioner submitted a copy of the electoral roll of the year 1955 relating the village Suleman Sabu-ki-Mod in support of his contention that he was a pre-1955 resident of Rajasthan. In the aforesaid electoral roll the name Phoosaram's father has been recorded as Chuniram, while the name of his mother is recorded as Jothi and the name of his grand-father is recorded as Asha. THE Allotting Authority examined the petitioner on oath on December 12, 1973 and he stated that the name of his father was Chuniram, while the name of his grand father was Purkharam and that the name of his mother was Parmi. THE Allotting Authority, considering the fact that the names of the petitioner's mother and grand father as disclosed by him in his statement on oath recorded on December 12, 1973 were different from the names of the mother and grand-father of Phoosaram, who was resident of Sabu-ki-Mod and whose name was entered in the electoral-roll of that place of the year 1955, came to the conclusion that the petitioner was trying to take undue advantage of identity of names and that the petitioner was not the real Phoosaram who was the resident of Sabu-ki-Mod in the year 1955 whose name was mentioned in electoral-roll of that place. THE Allotting Authority also made an 'on the spot' inquiry in village Sabu-ki-Mod and found that there was another Phoosaram living there whose particulars tallied with those mentioned in the electoral roll. THE Allotting Authority, therefore, by his order dated September 16, 1974, dismissed the application of the petitioner for permanent allotment of land. THE petitioner, then, filed an appeal against the aforesaid order passed by the Allotting Authority before the appellate Authority who also came to the same conclusion and dismissed the appeal. THE Appellate Authority also gave two reasons for dismissing the petitioner's appeal namely, that the name of the petitioner's grand-father and mother as disclosed by him in his statement dated December 12, 1973 did not conform to the particulars of the grand-father and mother of Phoosaram as described in the electoral-roll of the village Sabu-ki-Mod in the year 1955 and that the petitioner was thus trying to obtain the permanent allotment of land by impersonation. THE second reason given was that the Allotting Authority had made an 'on the spot' inquiry and found that the real Phoosaram, who was the resident of Sabu-ki-Mod did not apply for any allotment of land nor he was allotted any land on temporary cultivation under the Conditions.