- (1.) The petitioners pray for the issuance of a writ in the nature of Certiorari or any other appropriate writ, order or direction for quashing the orders dated 16.6.1976, 12.12.1978 and 7.10.1982.
(2.) The surplus area case of Kaka Singh, a big land owner, was decided by the Collector, Agrarian, Barnala on 16.6.1976, declaring land measuring 1.58.57 hectare of 'A' quality land as surplus. Kaka Singh, thereafter, filed an appeal, before the Commissioner, Patiala Division, Patiala, under Section 18 of the Punjab Land Reforms Act, 1972 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'). The appeal was dismissed on 12.12.1978. Kaka Singh, thereafter, filed a revision before the Financial Commissioner, Punjab, Chandigarh. The revision petition was dismissed on 7.10.1982. During the pendency of the revision, the petitioners filed an application accompanied by an affidavit that Kaka Singh was passed away on 23.4.1982 and the petitioners, who are his widow, sons and daughters, should be impleaded as parties. It was also prayed that as the big land owner had passed away, the surplus area would have to be redetermined in the hands of his legal representatives. The learned Financial Commissioner dismissed the revision petition,by holding that surplus area could not be redetermined in the hands of legal representatives, as it had to be determined on 3.10.1973 when Kaka Singh filed Form 'A'. It was also held that the application for impleading of legal representatives was false, as the Death Certificate produced referred to the date of Death as 5.9.1982, whereas in the application, the date of death was 23.4.1982.
(3.) Counsel for the petitioners submits that the learned Financial Commissioner, committed an error on two counts, firstly; by holding that the surplus area could not be redetermined at the hands of the legal heirs and secondly that the application for impleading of legal representatives of Kaka Singh was false. It is submitted that the petitioners had appended copy of a death certificate, issued by the Registrar of Births and Deaths, which clearly discloses that Kaka Singh passed away on 5.9.1982. The date of death, 23.4.1982 was inadvertently typed in the application. This inadvertent error on the part of their counsel should have been ignored. It is further argued that the controversy in the present case is squarely covered by a judgement of a Full Bench in Sardara Singh v. Financial Commissioner, 2008 2 LawHerald(P&H) 961, as it has been held that in case a big land owner passes away, during the pendency of an appeal, revision or a writ petition and the State has failed to take possession of surplus area so determined, the legal heirs of such a big land owner would be entitled to a redetermination of the land belongs to the big land owner, received by them upon inheritance.;