- (1.) This order will also dispose of Letter Patent Appeal No. 809 of 1982 as the question involved is common in these two cases.
(2.) The appellant society was formed in the year 1950 as a cooperative farming society under the Punjab Co-operatives Societies Act, 1961. It had 17 members. Out of them six were landowners and the remaining 11 were non-landowners. This society was formed for the purpose of better and progressive cultivation. After coming into force of the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953, some land of the society was declared surplus after giving permissible area to each landowner and to the society, but the non-landowners were not given any permissible area. The society filed appeal against the orders of the Collector before the Commissioner who dismissed the same on 2nd February, 1965. Further revision to the Financial Commissioner was also dismissed. Thereafter, writ petition was filed challenging the said orders of the revenue authorities. The main argument raised before the learned Single Judge was that each member of the society was also entitled to a permissible area of thirty standard acres. This contention was negatived by the learned Single Judge with the observations :- "Admittedly, the landowner members of the Society have also been allowed permissible area. It is only the non-landowner members who have not been allowed any permissible area."
(3.) At the time of the motion hearing, reliance was placed on a Division Bench judgment of this Court Chanan Ram v. The State of Punjab,1970 RLR 477, in which it was held that the tenant who joined the society was entitled to retain the permissible area of thirty standard acres if he held thirty standard acres of land.;