S. S. BYAS, J. - (1.) BY this petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitutions, the petitioner challenges the legality of the order dated January 5, 1977 passed by the Board of Revenue for Rajasthan, Ajmer and prays for annulling the same.
(2.) BRIEFLY recapitulated, the facts relevant for the disposal of this petition are that the petitioner Dhonkal Ram and non-petitioner No. 5 Hanuman jointly held Khatedari lands situate in Chak 1 Y in Tehsil Ganganagar as mentioned in para 1 of the petition. Subsequently, due to partition, 23 Bighas in Murabba Number 8 and one Bigha in Murabba No 14 alongwith some other land came to the share of non-petitioner Hanuman, while the rest of Murabba No. 14 (which is the subject matter of dispute in this writ petition) alongwith other land went to the share of the petitioner. The non-petitioner Hanuman filed an application before the Collector, Ganganagar under condition 8 (2) of the Raj. Colonization (General Colony) Conditions, 1955 (hereinafter to be referred as 'the Conditions) for granting him a way through the petitioner's Kila numbers 10, 11, 20 and 21 of Murabba No. 14. The Collector, after hearing the parties, passed an order on May 25, 1973. He allowed the application and directed the petitioner to allow a way through his fields to non-petitioner Hanuman. The non-petitioner Hanuman was directed to bear the expenses for carving out the aforesaid way and to give twice of the land from his Murabba as compensation to the petitioner. The petitioner felt aggrieved and went in appeal, which was heard and decided by the Revenue Appellate Authority on August 27, 1974. He held that the Conditions were not applicable to the land in question. He, therefore, set-aside the order of the Collector and dismissed the application filed by the non-petitioner Hanuman. The non-petitioner Hanuman felt aggrieved and challenged the order of the Revenue Appellate Authority by way of an appeal in the Board of Revenue for Rajasthan, Ajmer. The learned Single Member of the Board allowed the appeal, set-aside the order of the Revenue Appellate Authority and restored that of the Collector. The petitioner has filed this writ petition and challenges the legality of the order passed by the Board of Revenue mainly on two grounds - (1) no second appeal lies against an order passed by the Revenue Appellate Authority, and (2) the provisions of the Conditions are not applicable to the lands in question. It was alleged in the writ petition that the parties i. e. the petitioner and the non-petitioner Hanuman were holding the land even before the commencement of the Rajasthan Colonisation Act, 1954, (for short 'the Act' ). The Conditions have been framed under the Act As such, neither the provisions of the Act nor are the Conditions applicable to the lands held by the petitioner and the non-petitioner No. 5 Hanuman. The petition is contested by the non-petitioner Hanuman. According to him, Murabba No. 14 is situate contiguous in South to his Murabba No. 8. The way from Aabadi of the village to Murabba No. 8 is circuitous and long. He, therefore, applied for allowing him a way in Murabba No. 14 of the petitioner. The Collector had ample powers under condition 8 (2) of the Conditions to carve out the way. The Board of Revenue was fully competent to hear the second appeal. The provisions of the Act and the Conditions are fully applicable to the lands in question. Chak 1y has been declared to be a 'colony' and as such the Conditions apply to all lands granted before the commencement of the Act or after its commencement. I have heard the learned counsel for the parties at length. The questions which crop-up for decision and deliberations are : (1) whether the Board of Revenue for Rajasthan was competent to hear the appeal and (2) whether the provisions of the Act and the Conditions are applicable to the lands held by the parties in Chak 1y. The first question may be taken up to start with. The Rajasthan Colonisation Act, 1954 was enacted to make better provisions for the colonisation and administration of the lands in our State. Section 5 of the Act makes applicable all the laws relating to the agriculture, tenancy etc. to the tenancies held and the proceedings conducted under the Act except those otherwise provided in the Act or the Rules. As such, the Rajasthan Land Revenue Act, 1956 and the Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955 and the Rules made thereunder apply in implementing the provisions of the Act. The Act is silent about the provisions of the appeals. Section 76 of the Land Revenue Act speaks about second appeals. Under section 9 of the Rajasthan Land Revenue Act. the general superintendence and the control over all Revenue Courts and all Revenue Officers vests in the Board of Revenue, Rajasthan. Section 76 (d) lays down that an appeal shall lie from an order passed in appeal by the Revenue Appellate Authority to the Board. When sections 9 and 76 of the Rajasthan Land Revenue Act are read together, the inevitable position arising out of them is that the Board is competent to hear the second appeal against an order passed by the Revenue Appellate Authority in a proceeding under the Act. The order passed by the Collector was of judicial nature, against which the appeal was heard by the Revenue Appellate Authority. The order passed in appeal by the Revenue Appellate Authority, thus, being a judicial order, was subject to second appeal under section 76 (d) of the Rajasthan Land Revenue Act. I, therefore, find no substance in the contention of Mr. Arora that no second appeal against an order passed by the Revenue Appellate Authority was maintainable or that the Board of Revenue was not competent to hear this second appeal. The first contention of Mr. Arora thus, fails.
(3.) COMING to the second contention, which is the main and principal ground of attack, it was contended by Mr. Arora - learned counsel for the petitioner that the petitioner and non-petitioner Hanuman were the land-holders in Chak 1y before the commencement of the Act. As such, the provisions of the Act and the Conditions are not applicable to them. Developing the contention further, it was argued by Mr. Arora that when the Act and the Conditions are not applicable to the lands in question held by the parties, the Collector had no authority to carve out a new way in the petitioner's field for the benefit of non-petitioner Hanuman. He has invited my attention to conditions No. 4 and 8 of the Conditions. Reliance was also placed on section 20 of the Act. It was contended that the petitioner, under section 20 of the Act, is bound only by the Conditions mentioned in the Schedule attached with the Act. No other condition except those contained in Schedule can be imposed on him and much less of the Conditions, 1955. Mr. Bishnoi-learned counsel for the non-petitioner Hanuman, countering the contentions of Mr. Arora urged that admittedly Chak IY was declared a 'colony,. The definition of 'grant' given in the Conditions includes all the lands situate in a colony and it is immaterial whether the tenants came to hold the land before the commencement of the Act or after its commencement. It was further argued that section 3 of the Act makes it applicable to all lands in a the Act and the Conditions are fully applicable to it. I have bestowed my thoughtful consideration to the rival submissions. In order to properly appreciate the contentions of the parties, it would be useful to read the relevant provisions of the Act and the Conditions. As the preamble of the Act shows the Act was put in the statutes with the prime object to make better provision for the colonisation and administration of lands in the State. Section 3 of the Act speaks about its application. It speaks that the Act shall apply to all lands in a 'colony'. The Act gives the definition of 'colony', according to which colony' means any area to which this Act shall be applied by order of the State Government published in the official gazette. Chak 1y has been admittedly declared a colony for the purpose of the Act. Section 7 of the Act vests power in the State Government to grant land in a colony on such conditions as may be prescribed. It also authorises the State Government to issue a statement of the conditions. Section 28 of the Act empowers the State Government to frame rules for carrying into effect the provisions and purposes of the Act. In exercise of the powers conferred by sections 7 and 28, the State Government has issued the Rajasthan Colonisation (General Colony) Conditions, 1955. The Conditions as such, form an integral part of the Act. The Conditions have been brought into existence with the main and sole purpose of carrying into effect the provisions and the scheme of the Act. The definition of 'grant' in the Conditions reads as under:- "grant" - includes any grant made in respect of land to which the Act has been applied, whether made by way of conferment of any class of rights, whether before or after the commencement of the Act, or by devolution or otherwise:" ;