RANA RAM Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) AS the question involved in this petition and the writ petitions mentioned in the Schedule annexed hereto is common, they are being disposed of by this common order and, accordingly, the Schedule to the Judgment shall from part of this judgment. Admittedly, the petitioners in these writ petitions are special allottees of the government -lands under Rule 13A of the Rajasthan Colonisation (Allotment and Sale of Government Land to the Indira Gandhi Canal Colony Area) Rules, 1975 (in short, referred to hereinafter as 'the Rules of 1975') before the (Amendment) Rules, 1996 were brought into force.

(2.) THE State Government in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 28 read with Section 7 of the Rajasthan Colonisation Act, 1954 (Act No. XXVII of 1954) has amended the Rules of 1975 published in the Gazette on 01.03.96. The amended Rules; are called in the Rajasthan Colonisation (Allotment and Sale of Government Land in Indira Gandhi Canal Colony Area) (Amendment) Rules, 1990. The amended Rules have come into force with immediate effect. They read as under: After existing Clause (iii), of Sub -rule (5) of Rules 13A of the said Rules the following new proviso shall be added, namely: Provided that if any allottee fails to deposit the instalment on due date, as prescribed in the allotment order, the allotment shall be deemed cancelled without any notice. After the existing Clause (vii) of Sub -rule (5) of Rule 13 -A of the said rules, the following new Clause (viii) shall be added, namely: (viii) If the allotment of land to an allottee has been cancelled for non -payment of price of land under provision of these rules and if the allottee applies within six months from the date of cancellation or the date of deemed cancellation of allotment, the allotment shall be restored on payment of unpaid price in a lump sum with 18% interest p.a. Provided that benefits of the provision shall be available to the applicant for the maximum period of three years from the date of allotment.

(3.) TO appreciate the rival contentions it would be appropriate to understand the scheme of special allotment of the government land under the Rules of 1975. For the purpose of special allotment under Rule 13A, the Government has to notify in the official gazette the specifications of the land available for the special allotment alongwith the price fixed. The allotment shall be made to the persons who are eligible for special allotment in the order of preference given in Sub -rule (2) of Rule 7 of the Rules of 1975. Where such person is not available then to any of the persons who is a bonafide agriculturist and resident of Rajasthan for a period of not less than 20 years preceding the date of application. The extent of the land so allotted shall be subject to the ceiling -area -limit applicable to the allottee under the Rajasthan Imposition of Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings Act, 1973. After the land is notified in the Official Gazette with its price for sale by special allotment, the allotting authority shall invite by public notice applications for special allotment within the time fixed which shall not be less than 30 days from the date of issuance of the public notice. The copies of the notice shall be affixed on the notice -board of the allotting -authority concerned, the notice -board of the Colonisation Tehsil/Revenue Tehsil in which the land Is situated, a conspicuous place of the village in which the land is situated. After inviting the applications, the persons interested may present applications in form -19 to the allotting authority of the area or to any other officer authorised by the Colonisation Commissioner in this behalf. The applications shall be scrutinised alongwith the requisite papers required to be submitted under the Rules and after satisfaction of the correctness of the informations submitted by the applicants, the allotting authority shall arrange the applications according to the priority for allotment under Sub -rule (1) of Rule 7 of the Rules of 1975.