K. C. Agarwal, J. - (1.) THIS writ petition has been filed by Smt. Mahender Kaur, widow of Wing Commander Late Pritam Singh, resident of village Gumsani, district Naini Tal, against the judgment of the First Additional District Judge, Naini Tal, allowing Ceiling Appeal No. Ill of 1981, Raghubir Singh v. State of U. P. and Ceiling Appeal No. 112 of 1981, Dalvinder Singh v. Smt. Mahender Kaur and another.
(2.) THE facts of the present writ petition are these : A notice under Section 10 (2) of U. P. Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'), was served on the petitioner Smt. Mahender Kaur proposing to declare certain area of land with her as surplus. Smt. Mahender Kaur sold 40 Bighas of plot No. 334-M, situate in village Gumsani, and 40 Bighas of plot No. 6-M, situate in village .Bichpuri, through a registered sale deed dated January 1, 1974, in favour of one Gurdev Singh, son of Piara Singh, resident of village Gumsani, for a total consideration of Rs. 37,500/-. She also sold 64 Bighas of the aforesaid plot No. 334-M, through a registered sale deed dated May 10, 1974, in favour of Raghubir Singh, Jasvir Singh, and Rajpal Singh for Rs. 30,000/-. Apart from these two sale deeds of village Guroasni, she also executed a third sale deed dated May 1O, 1974, in respect of 64 Bighas of plot No. 6M, situate in village Bichpuri. in favour of Dalvinder Singh for a total consideration of Rs. 30,000/-. Smt. Mahinder Kaur filed objections contending that the statement given in CLH From 3 of Part C was incorrect as she had transferred major part of her holding through the aforesaid sale deeds. Gurdev Singh, Raghubir Singh, Jasvir Singh, Rajpal Singh, and Dalvinder Singh, who were the purchasers, also filed objections before the Prescribed Authority. Holding that the sale deeds executed in favour of the aforesaid persons were invalid, the Prescribed Authority ignored the same and held by the judgment dated 30th June, 1976, that the petitioner had 246 Bighas 4 Biswas in terms of unirrigated land and 12 Biswas Usar land as surplus in her holding. Against the aforesaid judgment, the petitioner preferred an appeal, which was appeal No. 870 of 1976. Respondents nos. 3 to 5 also filed an appeal before the District Judge, which was appeal No. 825 of 1976. The third appeal No. 782 of 1976 had been preferred by Gurdev Singh All the three appeals were disposed of by a common judgment dated 25th March, 1977, by the Third Additional District Judge, Naini Tal. While dealing with the transfer deeds made in favour of respondents 3 to 6 and also in favour of Gurdev Singh, the learned Additional District Judge held them to be void in view of Section (8) of the Act. The learned Additional District Judge while accepting the choice of the petitioner observed that the land transferred through the aforesaid void sale deeds could not be considered under Section 12-A (d) of the Act. Against the judgment of the Additional District Judge, the petitioner Smt. Mahender Kaur filed Writ Petition No. 2954 of 1977 in this Court. Dalvinder Singh preferred another writ, which was numbered as 2875 of 1977. A third writ petition filed was by Gurdev Singh and that was Writ Petition No. 2874 of 1977. All the three writ petitions were dismissed by a common judgment dated 2nd January, 1979. The petitioner Smt. Mahender Kaur, thereafter, filed a Special Leave Petition under Article 136 of the Constitution before the Supreme Court. The Special Leave Petition was numbered as SLP (Civil) 4540 of 1979. Gurdev Singh also had filed Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court rejected the Special Leave Petitions by observing : " Upon hearing counsel, the Court dismissed the Special Leave Petition. But so far as the surplus land to be surrendered is concerned, the Prescribed Authority shall decide as to which land should be required to be surrendered, after hearing the tenure holder Smt. Mahender Kaur as a transferor and Gurdev Singh Legal Representative and in accordance with the Section 12A of the Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1960, as also the agreement dated 16-1-1974 and the sale deed between the tenure holder Smt. Mobinder Kaur and Gurdev Singh relating to the transferee of the land. "
(3.) IN accordance with the observations of the Supreme Court, the petitioner gave her choice on 21st May, 1981, to retain the land in the ceiling area This was, however, subsequently changed and the ultimate choice given was as below ; Village Gumsani plot 334M Area 87 Bigha. Village Bichpuri plot 6M Area 86 Bigha 2 Biswa. On June 30, 1981. the Prescribed Authority, Kashipur, accepted the choice given by the petitioner in its entirety. The Prescribed Authority observed that in accepting the same he would be following the direction of the Supreme Court and also complied with the terms of the agreement dated 16-1-1974 entered into between the petitioner and Gurdev Singh. Against the aforesaid order of the Prescribed Authority, respondents 3 to 5 filed Ceiling Appeal No. 111 of 1981 and Respondent 6 preferred Ceiling Appeal No. 112 of 1981. The two appeals were allowed by the First Additional District Judge on 4-12-1981, and the judgment of the Prescribed Authority was quashed.;