- (1.) The petitioner prays for issuance of a writ of certiorari for quashing orders dated 14.10.2004 and 25.03.2003, passed by the Joint Development Commissioner (IRD), Punjab (exercising the powers of 'Commissioner') and District Development and Panchayat Officer-cumCollector, Gurdaspur, respectively. Counsel for the petitioner submits that as admittedly the land, in dispute, is recorded as 'Jumla Mushtarka Malkan Wa Digar Haqdaran Arazi Hasab Rasad', i.e., land that was created during consolidation under Sections 18 and 23A of the East Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation) Act, 1948 (hereinafter referred to as the '1948 Act') and Rule 16 (ii) of the East Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation) Rules, 1949, and not Shamilat Deh, the Gram Panchayat has no right to file a petition under Section 7 of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as the '1961 Act'). It is further contended that controversy in the present petition is covered, in favour of the petitioner, by a Division Bench judgment passed in CWP No.7438 of 2010 titled as 'Mithu Singh and another Vs. Director Rural Development and Panchayat Department, Punjab and others', decided on 22.05.2012.
(2.) Counsel for the Gram Panchayat submits that the land, in dispute, belongs to the Gram Panchayat and is reserved for common purposes of the village. The petitioner has, therefore, rightly been evicted from the land, in dispute. Counsel further submits that as the Gram Panchayat has taken possession, the present petition is even otherwise infructuous.
(3.) We have heard counsel for the parties, perused the impugned orders and as the land is admittedly 'Jumla Mushtarka Malkan' and not 'Shamilat Deh', the Gram Panchayat, therefore, could not file a petition under Section 7 of the 1961 Act. The State of Punjab has enacted The Punjab Gram Panchayat (Common Purposes Land) Eviction and Rent Recovery Act, 1976 (hereinafter referred to as the '1976 Act'), for eviction from 'Jumla Mushtarka Malkan' land. A similar controversy came up for consideration before a Division Bench in Mithu Singh's case and it was held that where land is 'Jumla Mushtarka Malkan', the Gram Panchayat cannot file a petition under Section 7 of the 1961 Act, and must file a petition under the 1976 Act or the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971. The controversy in the present petition is, therefore, fully covered in favour of the petitioner by order dated 22.05.2012 passed in Mithu Singh's case .;