RAMBUL SINGH Vs. BOARD OF REVENUE FOR RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an application by Rambul Singh against the Board of Revenue, the Sub-Divisional Officer, Behror, and Ghinsa.

(2.) THE allegattions of the petitioner are that he was discharged from the military service some time in the year 1951 and thereafter he obtained possession of his land in village, Shahjanpur, Tehsil Behror, from his tenant, namely Ghinsa. But ghinsa made an application on 28-7-1952, under Section 7, Rajasthan (Protection of Tenants) Ordinance of 1949 (hereinafter referred to as the Ordinance) in the court of the Sub-Divisional Officer, Behror, that he was illegally dispossessed. The Sub-Divisional Officer dismissed the application with reference to Government of Rajasthan Notification No. F. 1 (4) Rev. /51 of 11-1-1951, by which the application of the Ordinance was barred, in respect of the land of the military personnel either discharged from service after coming into force of the Ordinance or who are still in the employment of the Government. Ghinsa went in revision to the Board of Revenue against the said order of the Sub-Divisional Officer and the learned Members of the Board on 10-9-1953, reversed the decision of the Sub-Divisional Officer holding that the applicant after obtaining a discharge from military service and taking possession of his land by ejecting the tenant thereof had granted it to the opposite party, namely, Ghinsa, instead of cultivating it himself and the opposite party could not, therefore, be deprived of the protection granted by the Ordinance. The case was remanded to the Sub-Divisional Officer for trying other issues that were raised by the petitioner. The Sub-Divisional Officer, after having tried the case, ordered reinstatement of Ghinsa. The petitioner again went to the Board of revenue but he was unsuccessful. He has now come to this Court against the decision of the Board of Revenue of 18-8-1955. It has been contended on his behalf that the learned Members of the Board were not justified in interpreting the notification of the Rajasthan Government No. F. 1 (4)Rev/51 of 11-1-1951, in the manner in which they did and the exercise of jurisdiction by the Sub-Divisional Officer and also by the Board of Revenue under the Ordinance was illegal. It is prayed that a writ of certiorari be issued quashing the decision of the Board.

(3.) SHRI Yadav has appeared on behalf of Ghinsa and he has urged that (1) the notification, referred to above, was hit by Article 14 of the Constitution as it discriminated against the tenants of the military personnel vis-a-vis other tenants, (2) the term "government" in the notification refers to the Government of rajasthan and as the Government of Rajasthan does not keep any armed forces the notification is unmeaning and cannot be construed as giving any right to the military personnel serving under the Government of India or discharged from the service of that Government, (3) the petitioner has come to this Court with delay of 2 years and he should not now be allowed any relief for this reason, and (4) the interpretation of the Notification by the judgment of the Board of Revenue is correct and is in consonance with the spirit of the Ordinance.