- (1.) Karnail Singh has filed this petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, for the issuance of an appropriate writ, order or direction, quashing the orders of the Collector, Surplus Area, Commissioner and the Financial Commissioner, dated 24th May, 1969, 22nd September, 1969, and 19th January, 1971 (copies Annexures 'B'. 'C' and 'E' to the petition) respectively.
(2.) The facts of this case, as given in the petition, may briefly be stated thus :- Jangir Singh, respondent No. 4, was a big landowner as he was owning more than 60 Acres of land in villages Malwala, Gnaswa, Ratia and Kalandergarh of district Hissar. The case regarding the declaration of the surplus area of Jangir Singh respondent, was taken up by the Special Collector, who vide his order dated 16th June, 1961, declared an area to the extent of 54.15 Ordinary Acres equivalent to 28.35 Standard Acres as surplus. Feeling aggrieved from that order of the Special Collector, Jangir Singh, respondent No. 4, filed an appeal which was allowed by the learned Commissioner and the case was remanded to the Special Collector for redetermination of the surplus area of his. After remand the matter was again taken up by the Special Collector who upheld the earlier order of his predecessor dated 16th June, 1961, by which 44.15 Ordinary Acres equivalent to 28.35 Standard Acres had been declared surplus. Still aggrieved, Jangir Singh respondent No. 4 filed on appeal against the said order of the Special Collector dated 9th January. 1963, which was accepted by the Commissioner, Ambala Division, Ambala, vide his order dated 21st November, 1967, and the case was again remanded back to the Collector for redetermination of the surplus area of the said respondent. After remand, the matter was again taken up by the Collector, Surplus Area, who vide his order dated 24th May, 1969 (Copy Annexure 'B' to the petition), declared the respondent to be a small landowner. It may be mentioned, as stated in the petition, that after the order of the Special Collector dated 9th January, 1963, 10 Kanals of land situated in village Malwala, were allotted to the petitioner as resettled tenant. Although no date of the resettlement is given, yet before me, Mr. B.S. Wasu, learned counsel for the petitioner, states that the petitioner was settled as tenant in the year 1966. As no land was declared surplus and respondent No. 4 was treated as a small landowner, the petitioner felt aggrieved from that order of the Collector and accordingly filed an appeal, but the same was dismissed by the Commissioner, Ambala Division vide his order dated 22nd September, 1969 (copy Annexure 'C' to the petition). Still dissatisfied the petitioner filed a revision petition but that also met the same fate and was rejected by the Financial Commissioner, respondent No. 1, vide his order dated 19th January, 1971 (copy Annexure 'E' to the petition). It is in these circumstances that the present writ petition has been filed by the petitioner calling in question the legality and propriety of the orders of the authorities mentioned above.
(3.) Although various grounds have been taken in the petition, yet the only ground that has been pressed before me by the learned counsel for the petitioner, is that the order of the Collector, dated 24th May, 1969, was passed behind the back of the petitioner and without hearing him, that the petitioner was a necessary party and before passing that order, it was incumbent on the Collector to have heard him and that in these circumstances the impugned order dated 24th May, 1969 by which respondent No. 4 was declared to be a small landowner, is illegal and cannot be sustained.;