DHAN KAUR Vs. FINANCIAL COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This judgment and order of ours will dispose of Letters Patent Appeals Nos. 236, 237 and 238 of 1970, as common questions of law and fact are involved. In these appeals, Smt. Dhan Kaur, the landowner is the same but the tenants who are respondents are different. The facts on which there is no dispute may be stated thus.

(2.) Dharma respondent filed an application under Section 18 of the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act (hereinafter referred to as the Act) against Smt. Dhan Kaur, landowner (appellant) on 7th December, 1966. Smt. Dhan Kaur, in turn, filed an ejectment application under Section 9(i) and 14-A(i) of the Act against Dharma respondent (tenant) in Form 'L' on 15th December, 1966/23rd January, 1967. The purchase application, though filed earlier by Dharma respondent, could not be decided on 22nd February, 1968 and an ejectment order was passed against the respondents (tenants) on 22nd of February, 1968 (copy Annexure 'A'). The purchase application filed by the tenant-respondents was dismissed on 7th June, 1968, on the ground that the ejectment order had been passed in favour of the landowner and that the tenants had lost their status as such and had no locus standi to purchase the land under their occupation under Section 18 of the Act.

(3.) The tenant felt aggrieved from the ejectment order and filed appeals which were accepted by the Collector on 18th July, 1968, and the cases were remanded to the Assistant Collector for deciding the matter afresh with the direction that separate orders be written in the ejectment applications filed by the appellant. Dissatisfied from the order of the Collector, remanding the cases to the Assistant Collector, the landowner-appellant filed appeals before the Commissioner which were allowed on 4th February, 1969, and the Collector was directed to decide the appeals which had been filed by the tenants against the ejectment order, on merits. In the meantime the tenants had filed appeals against the order of the Assistant Collector by which their purchase applications under Section 18 of the Act had been dismissed. These appeals were allowed by the Collector on 18th July, 1968 and the cases were sent back to the Assistant Collector for deciding the matter afresh. After the order of the Commissioner dated 4th February, 1969, the appeals were again taken up to hearing by the Collector. Instead of deciding the same on merits, the Collector remanded those cases to the Assistant Collector with the direction that the ejectment applications be decided alongwith the purchase applications, vide order dated 13th May, 1969 (copy Annexure 'B') to the petition). Feeling aggrieved from this order of the Assistant Collector, the landowner filed appeals but the same were dismissed by the Commissioner on 19th July, 1969 (copy Annexure 'C' to the petition). Still dissatisfied, revisions were filed but they also met the same fate and were rejected by the Financial Commissioner on 7th October, 1969 (Copy Annexure 'D' to the petition). It is against this order of the learned Financial Commissioner dated 7th October, 1969, as well as those of the Commissioner and the Collector, dated 19th July, 1969 and 13th May, 1969, respectively, that the appellant filed three petitions, Civil Writs Nos. 3037, 3049 and 3050 of 1969, under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India challenging the legality and the propriety of the said orders.