Parties Name v. Director, Rural Development, Panchayats & Ors.

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Jasbir Singh Hon'ble Mr. Justice Augustine George Masih. PRESENT: Mr. Karnail Singh, Advocate, for the appellants. JASBIR SINGH, J. (oral) Order. This order will dispose of three Letters Patent Appeals bearing No. 1372, 1373 and 1374 of 2010. For facility of dictating order, facts are being taken from LPA No. 1372 of 2010. By filing this appeal, the appellants have impugned an order dated January 19, 2010, passed by the learned Single Judge dismissing Civil Writ Petition No. 4108 of 2008, filed by them. Heard counsel for the parties. Admittedly, appellants are in possession of land measuring 24 LETTERS PARENT APPEAL NO. 1372 OF 2010 -2- Kanals 4 Marlas. In the revenue record, the said land is entered in the ownership of Gram Panchayat. The petitioners filed an application under Section 11 of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961, (in short the Act) before the Collector with a prayer that the land does not vest in the Gram Panchayat and they be declared owner of the same being proprietors in the village Shamlat Deh land. The Collector, by taking note of the entries in Jamabandis for the years 1941 and 1974-75, declared the appellants as owners of the land in dispute vide order dated November 6, 2002, by observing as under: “From the thorough consideration of above statements Inspection of record, from the enquiries made at the time of inspection, from the documents produced by counsel of both the parties, I have come to the conclusion that as per copy of Jamabandi 1940-41, in the column of ownership shamolat deh Hasab Hissa Pamana is entered and cultivator is shown above said Surja son of Shobha Gair Marusi Bila Lagan is entered. In copy of Jamabandi for the year 1974-75, in the column of ownership, Gram Panchayat is entered and Surja son of Shobha Gair Marusi of the village is duly entered. As per copy of Khasra Girdawri 1995 to 2000 in the column of ownership of Gram Panchayat is entered and in the column of cultivation name of Surinder Kumar, Sukhdev Kumar, Narain Kumar, Chattar Bhuj, Sawan Kumar son of Ramji Lal s/o Surja in equal shares Gair Moursian has been entered, from it, it becomes clear that the land in dispute measuring 24 Kanals 4 Marlas comprised in Khewat No. 562/479, Khatauni No. 910 Khasra LETTERS PARENT APPEAL NO. 1372 OF 2010 -3- No. 35 Killa No. 3(8-0) 4min (6-16), 7min (5-4) 8min (4-4) in village Chuhriwala Dhanna Tehsil Fazilka District Ferozepur is under the possession of the claimants/ his heirs for the last more than 50 -55 years and they are cultivating the land in dispute. They are treated as owners of the land in dispute under section 11 of the Punjab Village Common Land Act, 1961. Petition of the petitioner is allowed.” The Gram Panchayat went in appeal, which was allowed by the Commissioner vide order dated May 5, 2001. It was specifically observed that as per provisions of the Act, Gram Panchayat is owner of the land in dispute. Claim of the appellants was negatived by observing that from the year 1950-51 to 1974-75, revenue record regarding cultivation of the land was not available. It was further noted that the appellants have failed to prove that they were in continuous possession of the land from January 26,

1950. To quash that order passed in appeal, the appellants filed Civil Writ Petition No. 4108 of 2008, which was dismissed vide the order impugned in this appeal. The learned Single Judge has discussed the entire matter and provisions of law in a thread bare manner and has found it as a matter of fact that the appellants have failed to prove on record that before January 26, 1950, Shamlat Deh land was partitioned and it was under their cultivating possession. It was also noted that as per Jamabandi for the year 1940-41, there is no entry regarding individual cultivating possession of the petitioners or their predecessors. Rather to the contrary, it was shown that the land was joint ownership of the co-sharers. It was also found as a matter of fact that the appellants have failed to connect land, which allegedly was LETTERS PARENT APPEAL NO. 1372 OF 2010 -4- under their possession before 1950 and afterwards. To prove the above said fact, consolidation record was not produced in Court. It was also observed against the petitioners that they have failed to prove that they were in continuous cultivating possession of the land of which ownership was claimed by them. As per jamabandi for the year 1974-75, their names were shown for the first time as Gair Morusi Bila Lagan,tenants, i.e., an expression which indicates a person in possession under the land owner and nothing more. By taking note of the facts on record, it was held that the land vest in the Gram Panchayat. We are of the view that the opinion arrived at by the learned Single Judge is perfectly justified. The appellants have failed to show anything to the contrary. Even before us, their counsel has failed to connect the land allegedly in their possession before 1950 with the land in dispute. Revenue record for more than a decade was not put on record to show continuous cultivating possession of the petitioners over the land in dispute. We are satisfied that the land in dispute is the ownership of the Gram Panchayat and application filed by the appellants under Section 11 of the Act has rightly been dismissed by the Commissioner. No case is made out for interference. Besides as above, this appeal is barred by limitation. No ground is made out to condone the delay. Application for condonation of delay and the appeal are consequently dismissed. ( JASBIR SINGH ) JUDGE (AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH) JUDGE November 18, 2010. DKC LETTERS PARENT APPEAL NO. 1372 OF 2010 -5-