- (1.) Kartar Singh son of Kunda Singh, the present petitioner, has impugned the order dated 29.12.1978 (Annexure P.2) passed by the Assistant Collector in exercise of powers conferred under section 7 (2) of the Punjab Village Common Land (Regulation) Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred as to the Act), ejecting the petitioner from Killa Nos. 1, 2, 3/1, 9, 10, 11, 12, 19 and 20 of Square No. 106, measuring 70 Kanals and 9 Marlas and the order dated 2.3.1979 (Annexure P.3) of the Collector, Sirsa, dismissing the appeal of the petitioner against the order Annexure P.2.
(2.) The case set up by the petitioner in the writ petition is that his great grand-father was amongst the first settlers in the revenue estate, in question. He was in possession of Khasra Nos. 67 and 68 of the village Shamlat measuring 6 Bighas 18 Biswas and 14 Bighas respectively since the time of first settlement and that the petitioner's father Kunda Singh and his father's brother Ghamanda Singh had been in possession of the said Khasra numbers since the time of second settlement in 1919-20, and from the year 1930-31 the petitioner's father Kunda Singh alone had been recorded in the revenue record as the co-sharer in cultivating possession of the said land and, since the Jamabandi for 1946-47 the petitioner had been recorded to be co-sharer in cultivating possession of the land comprised in the said two Khasras. Since 1956-57 the petitioner had also been recorded as the co-sharer in cultivating possession of the land comprised in Khasra No. 295, measuring 11 Bighas and 10 Biswas. In lieu of these three Khasra numbers, land comprised in Rectangle No. 196, Killas Nos. 1, 2, 3/1, 9, 10, 11, 12, 19 and 20 was allotted to the petitioner during the repartition in the consolidation proceedings.
(3.) The petitioner was first sought to be ejected from the said land under Section 7 (2) of the Act in the year 1967. The Assistant Collector, vide Annexure P.1, dismissed the application of the Gram Panchayat, holding that, in view of the provisions of section 4 (3) (ii) of the Act, the petitioner was not liable to be ejected. The Gram Panchayat, in question, moved a fresh application under section 7 (2) of the Act, which was allowed by the Assistant Collector Ist Grade, Dabwali, vide order Annexure P.2. The petitioner has claimed that the second proceedings were barred by res judicata and it has been further averred that, in any case, in view of section 4 (3) (ii) of the Act, the petitioner is not liable to be ejected. The provisions of section 4 (3) (ii) of the Act before amendment effected in the year 1973, were in the following terms :- ''Right of persons in cultivating possession of shamlat deh for more than twelve years without payment of rent or by payment of charges not exceeding the land revenue and cesses payable thereon.'' The section 4 (3)(ii) in amended from (amended by Haryana Act No. 23 of 1973) is in the following terms :- ''Rights of persons who were in cultivating possession of shamlat deh on the date of the commencement of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act 1953 or Pepsu Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act 1954, and were in such cultivating possession for more than 12 years on such commencement without payment of rent or by payment of charges not exceeding the land revenue and cesses payable thereon.'';