DEEPAK GUPTA,J. - (1.) The short question involved in this case is whether the land in occupation of the appellant(s) is 'shamilat deh' land within the meaning of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') and vests in the village common body. The land in question is situated in Haryana and, therefore, for the purpose of this judgment we shall be referring to the Act as amended and applicable to the State of Haryana.
(2.) The contention of the appellant(s) is that the land in dispute though 'shamilat' land, is actually a patti in possession of the appellant(s) and his ancestors for more than a century and is not being used for the common purposes of the village and, therefore, does not fall within the definition of 'shamilat deh' land.
(3.) In India, land is said to be the true basis for the unity in a village, supplying the ultimate bond between the residents of the village who collectively are known as the village community. When settlers went to new areas and cleared forests or turned barren lands into cultivable lands, certain portions of the land were left for common use such as charand land used for grazing, lands used for wells, watercourses, land used for common purposes and also for extension of the village residential area normally known as the abadi. These lands which were reserved for common purposes were jealously guarded and were in essence the common property of the original settlers and those who had helped them after clearing the waste and bringing the land under cultivation. The following observations from Chapter X, which has the heading 'The Village Common Land Introduction' of Sir W.H. Rattigan's 'A Digest on Civil Law for the Punjab', which is the one of the finest treaties on customary law of Punjab, are relevant: "....Lands so reserved are jealously guarded as the common property of the original body of settlers who founded the village or of their descendants, and occasionally also those who assisted the settlers in clearing the waste and bringing it under cultivation are recognized as having a share in these reserved plots. Even in villages which have adopted separate ownership as to the cultivated areas, some such plots are usually reserved as village common, and in pattidari village. It is not unusual to find certain portions of the waste reserved for the common use of the proprietors of each patti, and other portions for common village purposes, the former is designated shamilatpatti and the latter shamilatdeh.";