Gurdial Singh vs State of Punjab

V.K. Jhanji, J.

The petitioners who are the residents of village Dabhoor, Tehsil Anandpur Sahib, District Ropar, have challenged the Consolidation Scheme, Annexure P5, order dated 25.10.1989 passed by the Director, Consolidation of Holdings, Punjab, Chandigarh, vide which application filed under Section 42 of the East Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation) Act, 1948 (hereinafter referred to as ''the Act'') challenging the consolidation scheme, was partly allowed.

The only contention of the learned counsel for the petitioners is that the Consolidation Authorities have no jurisdiction to take ''Banjar Qadim'' land into account in consolidation proceedings as ''Baniar Qadim'' land will not be the ''land'' for the purposes of consolidation.

After hearing the learned counsel for the parties, we find no merit in the writ petition. It is not disputed that for starting consolidation work in the village, notification dated 10.5.1967 under Action 14(1) of the Act was published in the Punjab Government Gazette as far back as May, 1967. Thereafter, the Advisory Committee (sic) and was published by the Assistant Consolidation Officer, the sanction of which was given by the Consolidation Officer on 15.2.1988 after hearing the rightholders. The scheme was prepared with the help of the Advisory Committee was constituted by the Assistant Consolidation Officer on 15.2.1988 in presence of all rightholders. Some of the writ petitioners were also present at the time of publication of the Scheme. None of the petitioners raised any objection and consolidation was effected in the village in accordance with the Scheme. It is also not disputed that repartition has already been made under the Scheme. No appeal was preferred against the repartition. As a matter of fact consolidation proceedings have already come to an end as the parties who were entitled to possession as per repartition, have already been delivered possession of the land. The proprietors by now must have improved their holdings. In case the objection now raised by the counsel for the petitioners is allowed to be entertained, it would result in setting at naught the consolidation which has already become final.

In view of this matter it is now too late in the day for the petitioners to challenge the Scheme on the ground that the consolidation authorities have no jurisdiction to take Banjar Qadim land into account for the purpose of consolidation. The learned Director rightly rejected this objection of the petitioners. No other point was urged by the learned counsel for the petitioner.

For the reasons recorded above, the writ petition is dismissed but with no order as to costs.