SHAMSHER BAHADUR J. - (1.)WHERE these Civil Writ petitions. Mam Raj and Ors. v. State of Punjab, (Civil Writ No. 1386 of 1963) and Hanuman and Ors. v. State of Punjab, (Civil Writ No. 1508 of 1963) came for hearing before me in the first instance on 28th of March, 1967, a point was raised by the counsel for the respondent State of Punjab that the judgment in the Bench decision of Narula J. with which I concurred, in Amar Singh v. State of Punjab, 1967 Pun LJ 38, and on which reliance was placed on behalf of the petitioners, itself contained some observations which tended to cast a shadow on the conclusions reached therein. In my reference order of 28th of March, 1967, I therefore, recommended that these cases should be placed for disposal before a Division Bench at an early date. Subsequently, on 12th of July, 1967, when the petitions came for hearing before the Bench of Mahajan and Narula JJ. they referred the matter for determination by a Full Bench.
(2.)THE Bench decision in Amar Singh's case, 1967 Pun LJ 38 dealt with the scope, relative importance and inter -relationship of Sections 10A and 18 of the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953 (hereinafter referred to as the Act).
Before discussing the decision in Amar Singh's case, the bearing of which on the present petitions is of undoubted importance, it is well to know of the inter -dependence of the various provisions of the Act so that the perspective of Sections 10 -A and 18 of the Act and the contradictions between these, if any, may be understood and appreciated. The Act passed on 15th of April, 1953, was not the first legislation on the subject and the contours of many of the concepts had already taken shape in the two earlier enactments on the subject, namely the Punjab Tenants (Security of Tenure) Act, 1950 (Act No. 22 of 1950) and Punjab Tenants (Security of Tenure) Amendment Act, 1951 (President's Act 5 of 1951). The Act, which at once consolidated and amended the existing law on the subject, was designed 'to provide for the security of land tenure and other incidental matters'. As is clear from the preamble, the primary object was the protection of tenants whose ejectments recently from holdings held by landowners owning vast tracts of lands, had taken place on a massive scale. In restoring the rights of tenants ejected after 15th of August, 1947, care was taken that landlords with small holdings were not subjected to harassment by the tenants. For this reason, the concepts of 'small landowner,' 'permissible area' and 'reservation' were introduced. A small landowner was described as a person whose entire holding in the State of Punjab did not exceed the permissible area which though fixed at 100 standard acres in the Act of 1950 was reduced to 30 standard acres in the Act. A landowner owning larger areas was entitled to reserve the permissible area, and many of the provisions of the Act dealt with the manner and exercise of this right of reservation. The right of the landowner to eject tenants from the reserved or permissible areas was recognized in the Act though under Section 9 -A (introduced by Punjab Act 11 of 1955) the tenants liable to ejectment on this score had to be accommodated in surplus areas; a minimum period of ten years' tenancy was fixed under Section 7 in respect of tenants who were in occupation of land outside the reserved areas and the right of the tenants who had been ejected after the 15th August, 1947, for restoration of the tenancies was recognised. Provisions were made for the exercise of the other rights of the tenants, the most important of these being the right to purchase the leased lands under Section 18 of the Act. Except for slight modifications introduced by Punjab Act 11 of 1955, which are noticed below, the substantial provision is made in Sub -section (1) of Section 18 of the Act which is to this effect:

'18. (1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any law, usage or contract, a tenant of a landowner other than a small landowner (i) who has been in continuous occupation of the land comprised in his tenancy for a minimum period of six years (originally the period was 12 years), or (ii) who has been restored to his tenancy under the provisions of this Act and whose periods of continuous occupation of the land comprised in his tenancy immediately before ejectment and immediately after restoration of his tenancy together amount to six years or more (again, the period was 12 years at first), or (iii) who was ejected from his tenancy after the 14th day of August, 1947 and before the commencement of this Act, and who was in continuous occupation of the land comprised in his tenancy for a period of six years or more immediately before his ejectment (again, the period at first was 12 years), shall be entitled to purchase from the landowner the land so held by him but not included in the reserved area of the landowner, in the case of a tenant falling within Clause (i) or Clause (ii) at any time, and in the case of a tenant falling within Clause (iii} within a period of one year from the date of commencement of this Act: Provided ..... Provided further ..... (2) A tenant desirous of purchasing land under Sub -section (1) shall make an application in writing to an Assistant Collector of First Grade having jurisdiction over the land concerned, and the Assistant Collector, after giving notice to the landowner and to all other persons interested in the land and after making such inquiry as he thinks fit, shall determine (formerly the word was 'fix') the value of the land which shall be the average of the prices obtaining for similar land in the locality during 10 years immediately preceding the date on which the application is made. (3) The purchase price shall be three -fourths of the value of land as so determined. (4) (a) The tenant shall be competent to pay the purchase price either in a lump sum or in six -monthly instalments not exceeding ten in the manner prescribed. (b) On the purchase price or the first instalment thereof, as the case may be, being deposited, the tenant shall be deemed to have become the owner of the land, and the Assistant Collector shall where the tenant is not already in possession, and subject to the provisions of the Punjab Tenancy Act (XVI of 1887) put him in possession thereof. (c) If a default is committed in thepayment of any of the instalments, theentire outstanding balance shall, on application by the person entitled to receive it, be recoverable as arrears of land revenue. (5) If the land is subject to a mortgage at the time of the purchase, the land shall pass to the tenant unencumbered by the mortgage, but the mortgage debt shall be a charge on the purchase money. (6) If there is no such charge as aforesaid the Assistant Collector shall, subject to any directions which he may receive from any court, pay the purchase money to the landowner. (7) If there is such a charge, the Assistant Collector shall, subject as aforesaid, apply in the discharge of the mortgage debt so much of the purchase money as is required for that purpose and pay the balance, if any, to the landowner, or retain the purchase money pending the decision of a Civil Court as to the person or persons entitled thereto.'

(3.)I have reproduced these provisions to demonstrate that Section 18 is self -sufficient in respect of the machinery which has been created for the purchase of lands held by tenants. Firstly, only a tenant of a landowner other than the small landowner, has been given the right of purchase; secondly, the right is only in respect of the land which falls outside the reserved or permissible area, and thirdly, the minimum period of tenancy is prescribed, namely six years. Protection is given to small landowners whose holding does not exceed the permissible limit. This permissible limit is equally applicable to tenants who cannot acquire lands under the tenancy which exceed this limit. The Assistant Collector, to whom an application is to be made for purchase, is empowered under the Act to fix the value of the land the payment of which in the manner laid down in the various Sub -sections, makes him the owner of the land. Virtually, the order of the Assistant Collector has the effect of a decree passed by a Civil Court for possession and ownership.