Satya Parkash Goyal, J. - (1.) This petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has been filed for quashing the orders of the Revenue Authorities declaring the land measuring 12 standard acres, 14 units as surplus in the hands of Atma Singh Respondent No. 5. The petition was initially dismissed in limine but was admitted to hearing on the direction of the Supreme Court.
(2.) Atma Singh, Respondent No. 5, was the owner of 42 standard acres and 14 units of land. In the surplus area proceeding, the Petitioners, who are the sons of Atma Singh filed an objection that they were cultivating 0 standard Acres 11 units out of the said land as tenants and the same being tenant's permissible area, no part of the land held by Atma Singh could be declared as surplus. The Collector, after going through the revenue record held that the Petitioners who were cultivating the land of their father, could not claim the status of a tenant and accordingly rejected their objection. The order of the Collector was upheld by the Appellate and the Revisional Authorities which led to the filing of the present petition.
(3.) In this petition a new ground was set up that Atma Singh was only occupancy tenant on the date of the enforcement of the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act; that he became its owner under the Punjab Occupancy Tenants (Vesting of Proprietary Rights) Act sometime thereafter; that he transferred two -third of the said land to the Petitioners by way of gift and that a gift made before July 30, 1958 having been held valid by this Court in The State of Punjab etc. v/s. Bhalla Ram etc., 1963 PLJ 65. Atma Singh was only owner of 14.50 standee acres at the relevant time. The plea of the Petitioners obviously was based on a question of fact which was never raised before the Revenue authorities. Obviously such a plea would not be available in a petition under Article 22 of the Constitution of India. Even otherwise, the decision in Bhalla Ram case (Supra) on the basis of which the land was claimed to have been validly transferred by wav of gift, was overruled the latter full Bench decision in The Kanianwali Co operative Farming Society at Kanianwali and Ors. v/s. The State of Punjab and Ors., 1969 PLJ 258 with the result that the alleged gift had to be ignored while considering the surplus area in the herds of Atma Singh. I either can the objection raised by the Petitioners had, therefore, no substance and were rightly dismissed by the learned authorities.;