RANJIT SINGH MAJOR NOW LT COL MICHEAL A R SKINNER Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This judgment will dispose of Civil Appeal No. 743 of 1963 and Civil Appeals Nos. 553 and 554 of 1962. The appellants in Civil Appeal No. 743 of 1963 are owners of lands in village Virk Kalan, Tehsil and District Bhatinda. The appellants in the other appeals are owners of lands in villages Sewana and Mehnd of Tehsil Hansi in District Hissar. Proceedings for the consolidation of holdings are going on in these villages under the East Punjab Holdings (Conservation and Prevention of Fragmentation) Act 1948 (Act 30 of 1948). This Act was amended on many occasions but we are concerned with it as amended by the East Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation) (2nd Amendment and Validation) Act 1960 (27 of 1960). In the present consolidation proceedings portions of lands from those commonly owned by the appellants as proprietors, have been reserved for the village Panchayat and given over to it for diverse purposes, and other portions have been reserved either for non-proprietors or for the common purposes of the villages. Without going into too much detail it is sufficient to indicate that in village Virk Kalan 270 kanals and 13 marlas have been given to the village Panchayat for management and realisation of income, although the ownership is still shown in village papers as Shamlat Deh in the names of the proprietors and 10 kanals and 3 marlas have been reserved for abadi to be distributed among persons entitled thereto and 3 kanals and 7 marlas have-been reserved for manure pits. Similarly, in village Sewana 400 kanals and 4 marlas have been set apart for the village Panchayat for extension of the abadi and to enable grants of 8 marlas of land to be made to each family of non-proprietors and 16 kanals have been reserved for a primary school and some more for a phirni. Similarly, in village Mehnda, land has been reserved for the village Panchayat, a school, tanning ground, hospital, cremation ground and for non-proprietors. The proprietors were not paid compensation for the lands and it is the taking away and allotment of these lands which are the subject of challenge in these appeals on grounds about to be stated. Before, however, we do so we will set down some of the legislative measures which have relevance and mention some of the cases decided under them one of which led to the second amendment Act.

(2.) The Consolidation Act 50 of 1948 was passed to provide for the compulsory consolidation of agricultural holdings and for preventing the fragmentation of agricultural holdings. S. 18 of the Act provided that notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force,it shall be lawful for any Consolidation Officer to direct: inter alia

(3.) Before we follow up the result of this amendments we may say something about three other Act of the Punjab Legislature to which some reference will be necessary in the sequel. The Punjab Gram Panchayat Act, 1953 (4 of 1953) was passed to provide for better administration in the' rural areas of Punjab by Panchayats. Section 19 of the Panchayat Act laid multifarious administrative duties on the Panchayat like sanitation, drainage, supply of water, looking after burial and cremation grounds, public health, providing schools, hospitals etc, and also emphasized -