RAJIVE BHALLA, J. - (1.) The petitioners, who are legal representatives/heirs of the big land owner Sh.Brij Bhushan Sharan, pray for the issuance of a writ in the nature of Certiorari for quashing of the orders dated 15.11.1983 and 28.2.1985 (Annexures P-4 and P-5) passed by the Commissioner, Ambala Division, Ambala and the Financial Commissioner, Haryana respectively.
(2.) BRIJ Bhushan Sharan was the owner of 112 Std. Acres and 7 units of agricultural land situated in different villages of Tehsil Jagadhri. As he was a big land owner, within the meaning of the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Punjab Act'),the Collector, Agrarian, Jagadhri vide order dated 12.12.1960 determined his surplus/permissible area and held that as 97 std. acres 1/4 units of land were under old tenants and was therefore tenants permissible area, the big landowner would only be entitled to a permissible area of 15 std. acres 6.3/4 units despite his statutory entitlement as a big landowner to a permissible area of 30 std. acres. On 17.9.1970, the Collector, Agrarian, Jagadhri, sought permission to review the above order, on the ground that the big land owner had not disclosed his land in village Bhud Majra. The Commissioner, Ambala Division, Ambala vide order dated 6.7.1971 granted permission to the Collector, to review the order dated 12.12.1960 on two counts, namely; to initiate proceedings under Section 5-C of the Punjab Act and thereafter to separate the landlords and the tenants permissible areas. The Collector issued a notice to Brij Bhushan Sharan and initiated proceedings against him. Pursuant to an order dated 28.2.1973, the Collector dropped proceedings under Section 5-C of the Punjab Act but proceedings for separation of the big landowner's permissible area from the tenants permissible area i.e. for issuance of Form 'F', reflecting the permissible area of the big land owner in accordance with his entitlement under the provisions of the Punjab Act remained pending even after the enforcement of the Haryana Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1972 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Haryana Act').
(3.) DURING the pendency of these proceedings, the big land owner passed away on 11.4.1977 and bequeathed his entire property, by way of a Will dated 26.1.1970, to the petitioners. The petitioners asserting that as the big landowner had passed away and the surplus area proceedings were still pending under the Punjab Act, they were entitled to a redetermination of the surplus area in their hands as heirs of Brij Bhushan Sharan, filed an application before the Collector. The Collector, Agrarian allowed this application vide order dated 16.9.1982 and redetermined the surplus area in the hands of the petitioners.;