- (1.) A learned Single Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court reversed in second appeal the two decisions of the courts below on the strength of a Full Bench decision of that Court in Gram Panchayat, Sadhraur v. Baldev Singh to hold that the suit land being shown in revenue records to be owned by the shareholders of the three tholas belonged to those shareholders and not to the village community, or a part thereof, as the concept is known to the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961 (for short "the Act"). The instant appeal is to challenge that view.
(2.) The suit land is described in the revenue papers to be "in possession of the proprietors" of tholas. Three persons of those tholas joined together to institute a suit for declaration to the effect that the suit land was owned and possessed by the plaintiffs and other shareholders of the tholas which was being used in the interest of the tholas and not for the common purpose of the village community, and hence not "shamlat deh" in order to vest in the Gram panchayat. The suit ex facie was in a representative character and was instituted against the Gram Panchayat, asserting title to it challenging the purported vesting under the provisions of the Act. The trial court as well as the first appellate court relying on a Single Bench decision of that Court in coop. Society of Improvement of Shamilat Patti Harnam Singh Lambardar of Village Khanni v. Gram Panchayat of Village Khanni non-suited the plaintiffs on the ground that the joint possession of the proprietors of a patti, thola, panna or taraf, forming part of the village community, would all the same put such possessed lands within the ambit of "shamlat deh". Since this view was upset by the Full Bench of the High Court in the above mentioned case, the High Court in the instant matter reversed the decision of the two courts below primarily being cognizant of the views of the Full Bench extracted hereafter: "There is no evidence on the record to show that the owners of the patti much less those who are not the owners are using the suit land for any benefit. The expression 'benefit of the village community or a part thereof cannot be given by any stretch a restricted meaning so as to confine the benefit to only the owners of the land. Besides, it is also necessary that the entries in the revenue records must show that actually some benefit was being derived from the use of such land by the village community or a part thereof. Thus, in our considered opinion, the interpretation of sub-clause (3) in Coop. Society of Improvement of shamilat Patti Harnam Singh case, cannot bear scrutiny and does not lay down a correct view of law. "
(3.) The learned Single Judge, bound as he was, had to follow the judgment of the Full Bench. Even otherwise, the definition of "shamilat deh" given in Section 2 (g) of the Act as extracted in the judgment under appeal, clearly reveals the legislative mandate that shamilat deh would not include lands which are described in the revenue records as shamilat, taraf, patti, panna and thola which are not used according to the revenue records, for the benefit of the village community, or a part thereof, for common purpose of the village. It has been noticed earlier that here the lands are described to be "In possession of the proprietors of the tholas" and in their cultivating possession and use. There is no commonality of purpose disclosed in the revenue entries nor any indication that non-proprietors share the benefit of the land in a common way. The suit lands obviously would not fall within the ambit of "shamilat deh" so as to get vested in the Gram Panchayat. The High court therefore was right in decreeing the suit of the respondent-plaintiffs.;