- (1.) After the petitioner of the country, the petitioner as orphan minor of 2 or 3 years- the parents and other members of the family having been allegedly murdered in the riots was brought by the Army from Pakistan along with his paternal grand-mother. She died in 1950 and thereafter the petitioner was admitted in Gandhi Vanita Ashram where he remanded upto 1951 and thereafter he was put into Jain School, Panchkula, where he received education at the Government expense. After matriculation he joined the Army. On 14th October, 1974 he applied to the Managing Officer, Jullundur, for allotment of land in lieu of the land abandoned in Pakistan by the deceased brother and uncle of the petitioner of whom he was the sole heir. This application was dismissed by the Managing Officer vide order dated 25th March, 1975 for the reasons: (1) that the petitioner had not filed any mutalba claim and (2) that the application for the allotment was time-barred in terms of the provisions of rule 67-A of the Punjab Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Rules, 1955 (hereinafter referred to as the Rules) - he having applied long after 31sr December, 1963 the last date by which such application could have been made in terms of the said rule. The petitioner challenged that order in appeal before the Settlement Commissioner, who vide his order dated 11th July, 1975 set aside the order dated 25th March, 1975 of the Managing Officer and remanded the case back to him for fresh decision in the light of his order. The Managing Officer vide his order dated 28th November, 1975 again dismissed the petitioner's application which again led to fresh appeal to the Settlement Commissioner who again vide order dated 12th February, 1976 allowed the appeal and this time gave a direction to the Managing officer to pass an order effecting allotment of land to the petitioner. However, before this order could be given effect to by allotting the land in compliance thereof, the department suo motu made reference to the Chief Settlement Commissioner under section 24 of the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act, 1954 (for short) the Act, 1978 (Annexure P.3.) allowed the reference and set aside the orders of the Settlement Commissioner dated 12th February, 1976. A revision Petitioner against this order at the instance of the petition under section 33 of the Act was dismissed by the Financial Commissioner vide order dated 20th February, 1979 (Annexure P.5). So the present petitioner at the instance of the petitioner.
(2.) It is not in dispute that the petition was an orphan minor of a tender age when with the help of the Army he crossed into India from Pakistan after the partition of India. It is also not in dispute that he is sole heir of his deceased brother and uncle in question. It is also not in dispute that on the basis of the Jamabandi entries received from Pakistan, the appellant's brother and uncle were entitled to be allotted land measuring 0.111/4 standard acres and 1.6 standard acres respectively. The question that now falls for consideration is as to whether the petitioner is to be denied the allotment of the land in question on the ground that in view of the provisions of the rule 67-A of the Rules his application was barred by limitation. Rule 67-A of the Rules is in the following terms:- "Notwithstanding anything contained in this Chapter a displaced person from West Punjab or a displaced person who was originally in the undivided Punjab, but who before the partition of India had settled in North West Prontier Province, Baluchistan, Bahawalpur or Sind, whose verified claim in respect of agricultural land has not been satisfied or has been satisfied only partially by the allotment of evacuee land under the relevant notification specified in section 10 of the Act shall not be paid compensation in any form other than the transfer of acquired evacuee agricultural land and rural houses and sites in the State of Punjab or Patiala and East Punjab States Union in accordance with the scales specified in the quasi permanent allotment scheme operating in those States: Provided that the displaced person applies for payment of compensation in such form not later than the 31st day of December, 1963. Provided further that if any person has been allotted land in a State other than Punjab and his land claim has not been satisfied fully, he may for the remaining claim either be allotted land due to him in that State or issued a Statement of Account which he may utilise for purchase of property forming part of the Compensation pool or for adjustment of public duties."
(3.) A persual of the aforesaid rule would show that it envisage submission of application for allotment in regard to unsatisfied verified claims. The expression "verified claim" has been defined in section 2(e) of the Act which is in the following terms:- "2. (e) "verified claim" means any claim registered under the Displaced Persons (Claims) Act, 1950 (XLV of 1950) in respect of which a final order has been passed under that Act or under the Displaced Persons (Claims) Supplementary Act, 1954 (12 of 1954), and includes any claim registered on or before the 31st day of May, 1953 under the (East Punjab Act XII of 1948) or under the Patiala Refuges (Registration of Land) (Claims) Ordinance 2004 (Order 10 of 2004 Bk) and verified by any authority appointed for the purpose by the Government of Punjab, the Government of Patiala or the Government of Patiala and East Punjab States Union, as the case may be, which has not been satisfied wholly or partially by the allotment of any evacuee land under the relevant notification specified in section 10 of this Act, but does not include - (i) any such claim registered in respect of property held in trust for a public purpose of a religious or charitable nature; (ii) except in the case of a banking company for the purpose of sub-clause (i) of clause (b)of sub-section (3) of section 6, namely - (a) any such claim made by or on behalf of any company or association, whether incorporated or not; (b) any such claim made by a mortgagee or other person holding a charge or lien on immovable property belonging to a displaced person in West Pakistan.";