- (1.) The revenue estate of village Budhlada falls partly within the area of Gram Panchayat Budhlada and partly within the jurisdiction of the Municipal Committee Budhlada. On August 11, 1972, the limits of the Municipal Committee, Budhlada were extended by the State Government by a notification issued under Section 5(3) of the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911. Some land forming part of the Gram Panchayat Budhlada came to be included therein. No action appears to have been taken thereafter by the Municipal Committee to take over control and possession of the shamlat land falling within the area until after the issuance of the letter by the Government on April 30, 1976 (Annexure P-1), whereby a direction was issued to all Municipal Committees to take immediate steps to acquire control of shamlat land situated within Municipal Limits.
(2.) It is the case of the Gram Panchayat, Budhlada that in pursuance of the above letter of Government the Municipal Committee, Budhlada as also the Deputy Commissioner and the State Government had through their officials started taking steps to take possession and control of the area of Gram Sabha which came to be included within the municipal limits Budhlada. This action and the instructions of the Government under which it had been taken were sought to be challenged on the ground that by the inclusion of this area within municipal limits Shamlat land which formed part of it, could not, according to the provisions of law, vest in the Municipal Committee. In other words, the Gram Panchayat could not be divested of the shamlat land falling in this area. This contention is indeed well founded and must consequently be upheld.
(3.) The relevant provision of law to take note of here are those of sub-section (3) of Section 4 of the Punjab Gram Panchayat Act, 1952 which are in the following terms :- Section 4(3) "If whole of the Sabha area is included in an urban estate to which the provisions of the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911, are applicable or in a city, municipality, cantonment or notified area under any law for the time being in force, the Sabha and the Gram Panchayat for that area shall cease to exist and the assets and liabilities of the Gram Panchayat shall be disposed of in the prescribed manner." Next to note in sub-section (5) of Section 5 of the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911, which reads as under :- Section 5(5) "When any local area included in a municipality under sub-section (3) is a Sabha area, or a part thereof under the Punjab Gram Panchayat Act, 1952, representation to the inhabitants of the local area so included on the committee of the municipality in which local area is included, shall be given in the prescribed manner.'';