K. Kannan, J. - (1.) The petitioners challenge the order of the Financial Commissioner passed on 04.02.1986 rejecting their claim for quashing the earlier orders of authorities making allotment of certain properties in favour of private respondents. The petitioners' claim was on the basis that their father Ganesha was an occupancy tenant and allowed under the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953 to hold 336 Kanals 25 Marlas of land as falling within the tenant's permissible area. On the coming into force of the Haryana Ceiling on Lands Holding Act, 1972, it appears that the State had allowed for 270 Kanals of land as within the permissible area of the tenant and treated the property in excess as available for the State to make disposal under the Haryana Utilisation of Surplus and Other Areas Scheme, 1973. The petitioners' contention was that no notice had been served on them before the order was passed and they had resorted to the action challenging the allotment immediately after they came to know about the same. This contention was rejected by all the authorities under the Haryana Ceiling on Lands Holdings Act, 1972 and these orders are challenged in this writ petition.
(2.) The relevant provisions under the Haryana Utilisation of Surplus & Others Areas Scheme of the year 1976 are Sections 4 to 7. Section 4 deals with category of eligible persons on inter se priority. Category A is a tenant holding land declared as the tenants permissible area under the Punjab Law. By application of this Section, Ganesha and his sons shall be taken as falling within category A and eligible for the first order of priority. Section 5 contemplates application of eligible persons. This application would be possible within 7 days from the day when a list of surplus area is displayed after the permissible area is deemed to have vested in the State Government by virtue of Section 12 (3) of the Haryana Act. There is no denial of the fact that the whole property of what was declared as the permissible area of the tenant under the Punjab Law was, therefore, vested in the State and the issue was only the entitlement to receive the application.When the contention of the petitioners was that no notice had been served, I would assume that it must only be taken that the entitlement of the petitioners would be required to be considered in the light of the extent which the Act and the Rules provide for. Section 6 contemplates the scrutiny of applications and Section 7 (ii) states that the eligible persons of Category A will be allotted land to the extent permissible area under Act out of the area held by them. We have already examined Section 4, which provides for manner of reckoning of the permissible area of a tenant. If a proper reckoning is made for taking the primary unit of the family plus ²/₅th for the additional members, the entire property held as the tenant's permissible area under the Punjab Law must have been taken as the permissible area of the tenant. Since the petitioners are already said to be in possession of the property, the whole of the property must have been allowed to be retained by them and no fresh allotment could have been made in favour of the private respondents.
(3.) The learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners would contend that the action taken by the authorities even without notice was erroneous and not binding on them. Section 4 of Haryana Ceiling on Lands Holdings Act defines permissible area and to the extent to which it is relevant for us, it is contained in sub clauses (1) and (2), which is reproduced as under:- "4. Permissible Area:- (1) The permissible area in relation to a landowner or tenant or mortgagee with possession or partly in one capacity or partly in another, or person or family consisting of husband, wife and upto three minor children (hereinafter referred to as "the Primary unit of family"), shall be, in respect of - (a) land under assured irrigation capable of growing at least two crops in a year (hereinafter referred to as the land under the assured irrigation), 7.25 hectares; (b) land under assured irrigation capable of growing at least two crop in a year, 10.9 hectares; (c) land of all other types including land under orchard, 21.8 hectares. (2) The permissible area shall be increased by one-fifth of the permissible area of the primary unit of family for each additional member of family. Provided that the permissible area shall not exceed twice the permissible area of the primary unit of family.";