K.D.SHARMA, C.J. - (1.) S .B. Civil Writ Petition No. 1858 of 1975 filed by Col. Mohan Singh and S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 1874 of 1975 filed by Narendra Singh against the State of Rajasthan and Anr., arise out of almost identical facts and so they are disposed of together by one single order.
(2.) THE relevant facts giving rise to these petitions may be briefly narrated as follows: - -Col. Mohan Singh along with his son Narendra Singh was personally cultivating land comprised in Khasra No. 4 situated at village Bicharli in District Jodhpur since year 1951 as a tenant of Khudkasht of Maharaja Shri Gaj Singh of Jodhpur. The land including 'Kacholia Beria' was taken by Col. Mohan Singh on lease in the year 1951 from Maharaja Shri Gaj Singh for a period of 10 years and paid Rs. 3800/ -, per annum as lease money for the land in question. Subsequent thereto possession of the land known as 'Kacholia Beria' was handed over by Col. Mohan Singh, petitioner, to Maharaja Shri Gaj Singh in the year 1961. He however retained 316 Bighas of land only in village Bicharli. The lease relating to this land was further extended in the year 1961 for a period of three years and the petitioner paid lease -money for that period. The land which was leased out to Col. Mohan Singh, petitioner, belonged to the full ownership of His Highness Maharaja Gaj Singh as it was shown in the list of his private properties which was prepared and approved of by Rajasthan Government and the Central Government. Later on, the Rajasthan Government in exercise of its powers under Section 7 of the Rajasthan Land Reforms and Acquisition of Land Owners Estates Act, 1963 (Act No. 11 of 1964), hereinafter referred to as the Act, issued Notification No. 1 (29) Revenue/A/60 dated August 11, 1964, which was published in the Rajasthan Raj Patra Part 4(C) ordinary dated August 13, 1964. The said notification reads as under: In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 7 of the Rajasthan Land Reforms and Acquisition of Land Owners Estates Act, 1963 (Rajasthan Act No. 11 of 1964) the State Government hereby appoints the 1st day of September, 1964, as the date for the acquisition and vesting in the State Government of the estate of all land owners situated anywhere in Rajasthan. The validity of the Act was challenged by way of several writ petitions in the High Court by former rulers of Jodhpur, Banswara, Dungarpur, Kishangarh, Jaipur Udaipur and Jaisalmer. All these writ petitions were heard and decided by Hon'ble Mr. V.P. Tyagi, J. (as he then was) vide his order dated December 16, 1969, by which Chapters IV and VI and the Schedule of the Act were held to be invalid and were struck down while upholding Chapters II and III to be valid. As the validity of Chapter III, which includes Section 6 of the Act, was upheld, every person who, at the commencement of the Act, was or was entered in the revenue records as a tenant or tenant of Khudkasht but not as a sub -tenant of any land forming part of an estate was deemed to be the Khatedar tenant of such land holding from the land owner of the Estate. Hence, according to the petitioners they, being tenants of the land in question at the commencement of the Act, became Khatedar tenants thereof holding from the land owner of the estate i.e. Maharaj Shri Gaj Singh of Jodhpur. The survey of this land in village Bicharli was carried out in the year 1968 in connection with the settlement operations. The petitioner Col Mohan Singh and his son Narendra Singh, applied for making necessary corrections in the records of rights relating to the land under controversy on account of being in cultivatory possession thereof, since 1951. On their applications the State of Rajasthan and Maharaja Shri Gaj Singh of Jodhpur were called upon to file their replies. The Tehsildar, Jodhpur, representing the State of Rajasthan, filed a reply in response to the notice issued to him on the application of Col. Mohan Singh, and admitted that Col. Mohan Singh, petitioner, was in cultivatory possession of the land in question at the commencement of the Act. Likewise, Maharaja Gaj Singh of Jodhpur also admitted the tenancy of the petitioner. The Assistant Settlement Officer, after making necessary enquiry into the matter, came to a conclusion that Col. Mohan Sjngh, petitioner, had acquired Khatedari rights in the land in question as he had been in continuous cultivatory possession thereof since 1951 as a tenant of Khudkashat of Maharaja Gaj Singh of Jodhpur. The Assistant Settlement Officer accordingly, gave a judgment marked Annexure 2, which was never challenged by way of an appeal either by the State of Rajasthan or by Maharaja Gaj Singh of Jodhpur before any appellate court and so the judgment became final.
(3.) IN pursuance of the judgment of the Assistant Settlement Officer, corrections in the record of rights were made by the Settlement Department and a settlement Parcha was issued in the name of the petitioner from Samvat year 2021 to Samvat year 2030, i.e. for a period often years. The petitioner was, therefore, entered in the revenue record as a tenant of Khudkasht on 15th March, 1964 and acquired Khatedari rights in the land in question even before the commencement of the Act. After the name of the petitioner was entered in the record of rights as a Khatedar tenant of the land under controversy, the settlement department recovered land revenue from him since 1964 upto the date of filing of the writ petition as is evident from the rent receipts marked Annexures 5 and 6.;