P.S. Pattar, J. - (1.) BY this judgment the following two writ petitions shall be disposed of, as common questions of law are involved therein: JUDGEMENT_23_LAWS(P&H)5_1974.html
(2.) THESE are petitions filed by Sardar Umrao Singh and his son Satinder Singh and Amar Surjit Singh, under articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India to declare the Punjab Ordinance No. 2 of 1967 and the Punjab Land Revenue (Amendment,) Act, 1967 (Punjab Act No. I of 1968) as unconstitutional being violative of the provisions of articles 14, 19 and 31 of the Constitution of India and to issue an appropriate writ, direction or order, that they are entitled to payment of Jagir money with effect from Kharif 1967 to Kharif 1968 and thereafter and that the Respondents are not entitled to withhold the payment of this amount. The facts of Civil Writ No. 854 of 1969 are that S. Umrao Singh, Petitioner No. 1 is a Cis Sutlej Jagirdar of Manauli Estate and Petitioner No. 2 Satinder Singh is his son. The Petitioner No. 1 owns Cis Sutlej Jagir land in 24 villages in Tehsil Kfaarar and in 54 villages in Tehsil Rupar and the details of these villages and the Jagir land are given in Annexure 'A' and 'B' to the petition. The family of the Petitioners is known as 'Singhpurian family'. Their ancestors were Cis Sutlej Chiefs in Ambala District and they are known as 'Singhpurian family'. Their ancestors were Cis Sutlej Chiefs in Ambala District and they are known as the Sardars of Manauli Estate. The Jagir amount, according to the allegations of the Petitioners, was quantified at Rs. 51,051/ -, whereas according to the return filed by the State, the amount is stated to be Rs. 43,353/6/6 instead of Rs. 51,051/ -. In Civil Writ No. 3123 of 1972, the Petitioner Amar Surjit Singh is a resident of village Malaudh, District Ludhiana and is holder of Cis Sutlej Jagir and the quantified account of his Jagir is Rs. 67,135/11/4.
(3.) THE status of the holders of Cis Sutlej Jagirs and the nature of their Jagirs are fully discussed by the Supreme Court in Amar Surjit Singh etc. v. State of Punjab : A.I.R. 1962 S.C. 1305 and therefore, it is not necessary to state all those facts mentioned in the petitions. The Supreme Court in the above case made the following observations with regard to the status of the Petitioners: (a) The Chiefs were stripped of all their governmental functions, and the final document took place in 1852 when the British took over the collection of revenue for the jagir lands. The rules for settlement of revenue were made by them, and the actual settlement and collection of revenue were made under their authority, and out of the collections the Jagirdars were paid their share. (b) On these materials, the conclusion would appear to be irresistible that the right of the jagirdars to receive land revenue rests on implied grants by the British Government. It is alleged that the Jagirs of the Petitioners were declared as Military Jagirs by the Government and are, therefore, exempt from the provisions of the Punjab Resumption of Jagirs Act, 1957 (Punjab Act No. 39 of 1957), by virtue of the definition of 'Jagir' in that Act, as amended from time to time. By reason of the amendment of Section 3 of the Punjab Resumption of Jagirs Act, 1957; by Punjab Act No. 9 of 1961; a Military Jagir granted at any time before the 4th day of August; 1974 shall ensure for the life of the person; who is a Jagirdar immediately before such commencement and shall stand extinguished and resumed on his death. Therefore; this Jagir was kept alive for the lifetime of S. Umrao Singh, Petitioner and would only extinguish and be resumed after his death. The same is the incidence of the Jagir of the other writ Petitioner Amar Surjit Singh. The Governor of Punjab issued an Ordinance, the Punjab Land Revenue (Amendment) Ordinance, 1967, on 24th of June, 1967, whereby Sections 48 and 64 of the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887 were amended. The original as well as the amended Sections 48 and 64 are quoted side -by -side for facility of reference: JUDGEMENT_23_LAWS(P&H)5_11974.html ;