- (1.) The sole relief claimed in this appeal under clause 10 of the letters patent appeal is a slight modification of the order of the learned Single Judge whereby he allowed the writ petition preferred by the appellants.
(2.) It is unnecessary to advert to the facts. It suffices to mention that the only point raised before the learned Single Judge was that Gurcharan Singh appellant who claimed himself to be a lessee was not heard by the Collector at the time of the determination of the surplus area of appellant Amar Singh. Holding that the impugned order of the revenue authorities has been passed behind the back of one of the appellants, the learned Single Judge quashed the same and remanded the case back to the Collector Agrarian Reforms to determine afresh the surplus area of the landowners after giving an opportunity to the landowner. However, he restricted the proceedings by the following observations :- "The Collector will not go into any other matter or give fresh opportunity to petitioner No. 1, the alleged tenant, because the finding is that he is only a co-sharer and not a tenant."
(3.) Mr. N.L. Dhingra for the appellant has rightly placed reliance on the following observations of the Division Bench in Babu Ram and others v. State of Punjab and others, 1965 PunLJ 185:- "The previous declaration of surplus area, according to the learned Commissioner was, therefore, not valid in law. After having held this, the learned Commissioner then could not say that the petitioner was debarred from raising the point regarding the banjar jadid and banjar qadim land before the Collector, Agrarian, on the basis of Shri Nemi Chand Jain,1963 PunLJ 163 If the declaration of surplus area has to be made afresh, then no restrictions can be placed on his rights and he can urge all the legal objections which he can take before the Collector, Agrarian." Counsel contends that herein also the determination of the surplus area having been set aside and in particular on the ground of lack of opportunity to the appellant any findings given behind his back are of no validity and, therefore, have to be gone into afresh.;