R.L.ANAND, J. - (1.) SARVSHRI Ram Lal, Madan Lal and Rajinder Kumar sons of Pt. Salig Ram have filed the present civil writ petition under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India against the respondents, i. e, the Financial Commissioner, Chief Settlement Commissioner, Settlement Commissioner and Assistant Settlement Officer (Sales) cum-Managing Officer, Jalandhar, praying that a writ of certiorari be issued and the orders dated 30. 8. 1979, 16. 6. 1977, 29. 4. 1976 and 15. 10. 1975 passed by respondent, Nos. 1 to 4, respectively, holding that Pt. Salig Ram, father of the petitioners, was not the owner in possession of property No. 472/5, Tarn Taran, and further declaring that the property is still available for disposal, be quashed being illegal, arbitrary, capricious and inoperative.
(2.) THE case set up by the petitioners is that the property bearing No. 472/5 was an evacuee property and it belonged to Wazira Mashki, as detailed in the writ petition. This property has now been denoted by Municipal No. 342/13. Wazira Mashki mortgaged property No. 472/5, Tarn Taran, in favour of one Pohu Mal mortgagee. The property was declared a composite property and was made over for disposal to the Competent Officer, Amritsar, who issued a notice for public auction. This property was described as a Khola. It was put to auction on 14. 6. 1955 and it was purchased by Pandit Salig Ram, father of the petitioners for a sum of Rs. 510/ -. On 19. 8. 1955 the Competent Officer issued a certificate of sale in favour of Pt. Salig Ram. After purchasing the Khola, Pt. Salig Ram raised construction over it by spending huge sum of money. Thereafter, Pt. Salig Ram gave the property on rent to one Sohan Singh in the year 1963. After the death of Sohan Singh the house remained in occupation of his widow Smt. Gurnam Kaur and her sons, Baldev Singh, Santokh Singh and Hardev Singh. Property No. 471/5, which is situated on the South of the property No. 472/5, belonged to Jiwani Ghumiar before the partition of the Country and was declared as an evacuee property. It was also purchased by Pt. Salig Ram from the Rehabilitation Department in a public auction on 19. 6. 1958 and a sale certificate was issued on 14. 8. 1958. In this sale certificate, the address of the petitioners' father Pt. Salig Ram is mentioned, being resident of House No. 472/5, Tarn Taran, which clearly indicates that by the year 1958 Pt. Salig Ram had already raised construction on the property in dispute, i. e. , property No. 472/5. After the death of Sohan Singh, his widow Smt. Gurnam Kaur and her sons Baldev Singh, Santokh Singh and Hardev Singh refused to make payment of the rent, as a result of that Pt. Salig Ram filed Civil Suit No. 219 of 1971 in the Court of Sub Judge, Tarn Taran, for the possession of the property. During the pendency of the suit, Smt. Gurnam Kaur and her sons disputed the title of Pt. Salig Ram to the property in dispute. The suit of Pt. Salig Ram was decreed vide judgment dated 28. 2. 1974 and a decree for possession was passed against Smt. Gurnam Kaur and her sons. During the course of proceedings in the Court of Shri S. S. Kamal, Sub Judge 2nd Class, Tarn Taran, the Record Keeper of the office of Deputy Commissioner, Amritsar, appeared as a witness and he brought a file containing the orders dated 15. 7. 1955. In the said file the number of the property in dispute was mentioned as 472/5. It is alleged that after the passing of the decree by the Court of Sub Judge, Tarn Taran, Smt. Gurnam Kaur and her sons approached the Assistant Settlement Officer, Rehabilitation Department, Jalandhar, to conduct a parallel enquiry in order to secure a finding contrary to the Judgment of the Civil Court, and Shri Harchand Singh, Assistant Settlement Officer, Jalandhar, inspected the spot and he came to certain conclusions, which were apparently wrong and against the circumstances existing at the spot. He held property No. 472/5 as an evacuee property and not a composite property. He further held that the property belonged to Gulu and not to Wazira and was still available for disposal. The appeal filed by Smt. Gurnam Kaur and her sons was also dismissed by the Court of Shri Tara Singh Cheema, Additional District Judge, Amritsar, vide judgment dated 24. 3. 1976. However, the Additional District Judge made certain observations to the effect that the judgment pronounced by him was inter se parties and it would remain the judgment in personam and the rights of the Central Government or for that matter anybody else in deriving the title from the parties to this litigation shall not be affected.
(3.) IT is also averred that on the departmental side the petitioners' father Pt. Salig Ram filed an appeal against the order dated 17. 10. 1975 before respondent No. 3 and this appeal was dismissed on 29. 4. 1976 vide Annexure P7. Thereafter Pt. Salig Ram filed revision Under Section 24 of the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act, 1954 (for short 'the Act') and it was also dismissed on 16. 6. 1977 (Annexure P8) by the Chief Settlement Commissioner (respondent No. 2 ). Yet another petition Under Section 33 of the Act was filed by Pt. Salig Ram and the same was also dismissed on 30. 8. 1979 vide Annexure P9 by the Financial Commissioner, Revenue (respondent No. 1 ).;