SURYA KANT,J. - (1.) The petitioners seek quashing of the orders dated 21.06.2011 and 18.03.2015 (P6 and P8) passed by the Collector and the Appellate Authority, respectively, under the Punjab Village Common Land (Regulations) Act, 1961. Vide the first order, the Collector dismissed the petition filed by petitioners under Sections 11 of the Act seeking declaration of their ownership with possession of the land measuring 52 kanal 11 marla situated within the revenue estate of Village Kalyana, Tehsil Nabha, District Patiala fully described in the headnote of the petition and vide the second order, the appellate authority has dismissed their appeal, affirming the order of the Collector.
(2.) The facts may be noticed briefly. The petitioners while claiming themselves to be proprietors of village Kalyana, Tehsil Nabha Tehsil Patiala, asserted their possession of the suit land from the year 1930 onwards i.e. since the time of their forefathers. According to them, the subject land is owned by shamlat deh hasab rasad rakba khewat and as per jamabandi for the year 1946 -47 and in the column of possession, makbuja malkan i.e. the proprietary body is recorded in its possession. They further averred that mutation of ownership was illegally changed by the Assistant Collector 2nd Grade in favour of Nagar Panchayat vide mutation No.322 purportedly in compliance of the order dated 15.06.1955 passed by the Deputy Commissioner, Patiala who had no such power to direct the change of mutation. They further averred that entry in the column of ownership was further sanctioned vide mutation No.589 in favour of Punjab Wakf Board ­ respondent No.4 on 18.04.1978 on the strength of the notification dated 29.05.1971 published in the Gazette of Government of India. The petitioners thus while questioning both the mutations further claimed that the subject land is owned by the proprietary body of the village and they were also in possession of a part of it as per their share being proprietors of the village.
(3.) Respondent No.2 ­ Gram Panchayat contested the claim of petitioners and maintained that the suit land is actually owned by it and that the mutation sanctioned in favour of Punjab Wakf Board was totally illegal as there is no Muslim community in the village nor the suit land was ever used for any purpose of Muslim community. The claim of the petitioners that they were in cultivating possession of suit land since 1930 was disputed.;