Municipal Committee of Sirhind vs The State of Punjab and Others

D.K. Mahajan, J.—This petition under Article 226 of the constitution of India is directed against the notification of the Punjab Government No. 211-D(M)-58/78, dated the 3rd of February, 1958, issued u/s 10(2) of the Punjab Colonization of Government Lands (Punjab) Act, 1912. By this notification the Government is proposing to sell certain land which admittedly is in the Sirhind Mandi, district Patiala. The petitioner is the Municipal Committee Sirhind and its stand is that the land in dispute vests in the Municipal Committee u/s 56 of the Punjab Municipal Act and as such Government has no right to sell the same so long as it vests in the Committee. It will be proper at this stage to set out paragraph 3 of the petition which is in these terms-

That respondent No. 1 has proposed to sell certain plots for the construction of shops, residential houses and factory buildings in the Sirhind Mandi through its (sic)flicers, respondents No 2 and 3 and that the proposed sale is to be conducted through a public auction on 24th of January, 1964. The auction sale has been advertised through handbills.

The State''s reply to paragraph 3 is as follows:

Regarding para. 3 of the petition it is slated that it was proposed to sell plots of Government vacant land for construction of shops and residential purposes only by public auction on 24th January, 1964 in the old Mandi at Sirhind in the Patiala Division. Advertisement had also been made.

It will be clear form the combined reading of paragraph 3 of the petition and the State''s reply that it is not disputed that the land is not part of the Sirhind Mandi Once it is settled that the land in dispute which is sought to be sold by auction is part of the Sirhind Mandi it would u/s 56 of the Municipal Act vest in the Municipal Committee. Section 55(1) and sub-clause (a) of this section under which the vesting takes place reads thus :

56 (1) Subject to any special reservation made or to any special conditions imposed by the State Government, all property of the nature hereinafter in this section specified and situated within the Municipality, shall vest in and he under the control of the Committee, and. with all other property winch has already vested, or may hereafter vest in the Committee, shall be held and applied by it for the purposes of this Act, that is to say :

(a) All public Town walls, gates, markets, stalls, slaughter houses, manure and night soil depots and public buddings of every description which have been constructed or are maintained out of the Municipal fund;

Section 56(2) of the Act suggests that Government has the power to resume the land but no such power has been exercised by the Government. Land is sought to be sold on the plea that it is Government land. This fact is inherent when the vesting takes place u/s 56(1) of the Act. Therefore the more fact that it is the Government land will not be of any consequence so long the land is vested in the Municipal Committee and the Municipal Committee is not divested of it by the Government. In this situation the Government cannot proceed to auction the land under the Punjab Colonization of Lands Act.

Mr Lakhanpal who appears for the State of Punjab drew my attention to annexure R. 1 which is in these terms :

The work relating to old mandis already established in Patiala Division (erstwhile State of Pepsu) which is at present being done by the Commissioner Patiala Division as Head of Department it, is transferred to the Colonization Officer, Punjab. Secretary to Government, Punjab, Agriculture Department shall, however, continue to be the Administrative Secretary to this Subject. This order wilt take effect from the date of is us.

This annexure does not divest the property which has vested in the Committee u/s 5(1). On the other hand annexure R. 2 concludes the matter. Annexure (sic) 2 reads thus-

In supersession of this Department notification No. 16 dated 17th May, 1950. His highness the Rajpramukh is pleaded to order that only such property shall vest in and be under the control of the Municipal and small Town Committees as they are entitled to u/s 56 of the Punjab Municipal Act. 1911, in force mutatis mutandis in the State, and section 22 of the Pepsu Small Towns Ordinance, 1954, as the case may be. All Local Bodies should survey and see if they are in possession of all such property and report if any property vested in them under the law is occupied be some other department. They should also see if there is any land or other property situated within the local limits which they wish to be transferred to them under clause (f) of sub-section (1) of section 56 of the Punjab Municipal Act, 191l, in force mutatis mutandis in the State, or section 22(a) of the Pepsu Small Towns Ordinance, 1954. They should put up their proposals giving full details of such property and the purpose for which it is required so that action to transfer the same to the Committees may be taken in consultation with the Government Department concerned.

After taking into consideration the entire material on the record I am clearly of the view that so long as the land vests in the Municipal Committee the Government is not entitled to sell it by public auction. It can only do so after resuming the land.5. For the reasons given above this petition succeeds and is allowed, under the Punjab Colonization of Lands Act is quashed There will be. The notification of the Government proposing to sell the land in dispute no order as to costs.