S.N. Singh, J. - (1.) THESE Special appeals arise out of two writ petitions filed by Chunni Lal Farming Society through Chunni Lal and others and Rajan Farming Society through Chunni Lal and others. The facts giving rise to these special appeals which arise out of the two writ petitions are that one Sami Uddin was the proprietor of village Mujhara Bhaga, Pergana Pooranpur, district Pilibhit. This Sami Uddin migrated to Pakistan and the whole of his Zamindari property was taken over by the Custodian, Evacuee Property. It appears that in April 1952 the Custodian, Evacuee Property, Uttar Pradesh made allotments of extensive area of plots measuring about 300 acres in one case and about 216 acres in another to the Petitioners. These allotments were made in respect of Jungle Khair and Banjar land. After these allotments the Petitioners moved applications before Sri R.P. Singh, the Assistant Custodian who by his order of 1 -3 -1955 accepted the Petitioners to have become sirdars of the land in dispute. Later on it appears that the Evacuee Department was of the opinion that being merely allottees of the land in dispute the Petitioners could not become sirdars and since they had not conformed to the terms of the allotment by paying the price of land at the rate of Rs. 450/ - per standard acre they were liable to ejectment. Having arrived at this conclusion the Evacuee Department took proceedings for the ejectment of the Petitioners. Thereafter the Petitioners filed writ petitions in this Court in 1958. Later on according to the case of the Petitioners since some compromise had been arrived at between the Petitioners and the Evacuee Department they withdrew their writ petitions and this Court by an order dated 27 -1 -1961 permitted the writ petitions to be withdrawn. Again it appears that the Evacuee Department changed its stand and threatened to evict the Petitioners under the provisions of the Administration of the Evacuee Property Act which necessitated the filing of the two writ petitions.
(2.) BY these two writ petitions the Petitioners prayed for a writ of mandamus or any other suitable writ or order or direction requiring the Appellants of the Sp. A. No. 1210 of 1969 to desist from taking any action under the Administration of Evacuee Property Act, 1950 or otherwise from dispossessing the Petitioners or interfering with their rights over the land in dispute or from taking any action on the basis that the land in dispute was evacuee property. These writ petitions were contested by the Evacuee Department who denied the right of the Petitioners as sirdars and claimed the right to hold and manage the property in dispute. They also denied the possession of the Petitioners over the entire land allotted. Previous to the filing of these two writ petitions some other persons who were also allottees like the Petitioners and who had also been similarly treated by the Evacuee Department came to this Court and filed writ petitions on identical facts with the same prayers as have been made in the two writ petitions out of which these appeals arise. Their writ petitions were dismissed. Whereupon they filed Sp. As. Nos. 520 of 1965 and 528 of 1965 - -Sardhana Cooperative Farming Society v. Custodian General Evacuee Property and others. These special appeals were allowed by a Division Bench of this Court of which one of us was a member by the order dated 11 -5 -1967. The Division Bench held that after the abolition of zamindari the Custodian lost whatever right he had acquired under the Administration of Evacuee Property Act in respect of the property in dispute and that the Petitioners of those cases who were in possession by virtue of the allotment order could not be evicted under the provisions of the Evacuee Property Act. The Bench passed an order directing the Respondents in these cases (i.e. the Appellants of the Sp. A. No. 1210 of 1969) not to evict the Petitioners under administrative orders or through the special provisions of the Administration of Evacuee Property Act 1950. It was further ordered that the Respondents of those cases would be at liberty to file suits against the Petitioners for their eviction in competent civil or revenue courts.
(3.) WHEN these writ petitions came up for hearing before a learned Single Judge of this Court he felt bound by the above Division Bench case and following the decision of the Division Bench allowed the two writ petitions and directed the Appellants of Sp. A. No. 1210 of 1969 not to evict the Petitioners under the Administrative orders or through the special provisions of the Administration of Evacuee Properly Act 1950. The learned Single Judge directed that it was open to the Appellants to file suits against the Petitioners for their eviction in civil or revenue courts as advised.;