The Gram Panchayat Village Kariha vs The Commissioner, Jalandhar Division, Jalandhar and others

G.R Majitnia, J.—A petition u/s 7 of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961 for short the ''Act''), was filed by the Appellant against the Respondent''s predecessor-in-interest on the ground that the latter was in illegal possession of disputed land and liable to be evicted.

The Respondent in his reply to the petition pleaded that the disputed land belonged to the Punjab Wakf Board and he was in possession as a tenant under the former

The Assistant Collector 1st Grade Nawanshahar allowed the petition and passed the order of eviction. This order was not sustained on appeal by the Collector, District Jalandhar, who held that the land in dispute vested in the Punjab Wakf Board and not in the Gram Panchayat. Dissatisfied with the order of the Collector, the Appellant preferred an appeal to the Commissioner, Jalandhar Division, Jalandhar, who allowed the same holding that in the records of rights, Gram Panchayat was recorded as the owner; notification issued by the Government of India declaring that the land in dispute vested in the Wakf has no relevancy so long as the entries in the revenue record were altered.

The son of the occupant of the land filed a Civil Writ Petition in this Court challenging the order of the Commissioner. The learned Single Judge took the view that the property in dispute is the Wakf property; the assumption of jurisdiction by the authorities under the Act was totally beyond their power. Resutantly, the order of the Commissioner was set aside.

The order of the learned Single Judge has been challenged by the Gram Panchayat in appeal under clause X of the Letters Patent. The decision rendered by the learned Single Judge was specifically over ruled by the Division Bench of this Court in Punjab Wakf Board v. Nutha Singh 1988 P. L. J. 10 The Bench held that the notification issued u/s 5(2) of the Wakf Act, declaring the property mentioned therein to be Wakf property, cannot be treated as bound upon persons other than "persons interested in the wakf" as defined in Clause (h) of Section 2 of the Act. The notification does not bind the strangers. The contrary view taken in Avtar Singh v. Commissioner Jullundur Division and Ors. 1984 P. L. J. 244, (judgment under challenge in appeal), was over ruled.

In view of the above Division Bench decision this appeal has to be allowed. However, this will not resolve the dispute between the parties. The question whether the land vests or is deemed to have vested in the Panchayat has to be adjudicated upon by the Collector u/s 11 of the Act. Section 13 of the Act bars the jurisdiction of the Civil Court and it expressly says that the civil Court shall have no jurisdiction to entertain or adjudicate upon any question whether any property or any right to or interest in any property is or is not Shamilat deh vested or deemed to have been vested in a Panchayat In view of this, the parties cannot be relegated to civil Court and the dispute has to be decided by the Collector u/s 11 of the Act, and the question of title to the disputed land can only be decided in the presence of the Wakf Board.

Section 57 of the Wakf Act enjoins upon the Court that in every suit or proceedings relating to title to Wakf property or the right of a Mutwalli to issue notice to the Board at the cost of the party instituting such suit or proceeding. Section 57(3) of the Wakf Act, lays down that in the absence of the notice under Sub-section (1) of Section 57, any decree or order passed in the suit or proceedings shall be declared void, if the Board within one month of its coming to know of such suit or proceeding applies to the Court in this behalf We thus set aside the orders of the learned Single Judge, Assistant Collector Ist Grade, Collector and the Commissioner dated April 18, 1984, November 28, 1975, June 24, 1977 and June 20, 1978, respectively, and remand the case to the Collector who has been specially authorised by the State Government to adjudicate the dispute u/s 11 of the Act. The petition filed by the Appellant along with the entire evidence led by the parties shall stand transferred to the Collector, who on receipt of the file will issue notice to the occupants of the land Gram Panchayat and the Punjab Wakf Board. He will permit them to lead such evidence as they think fit and thereafter decide whether the land in dispute vests or does not vest in the Panchayat. The appeal is allowed. We, however, direct the Collector to dispose of the lis expeditiously.

Sd/- V. Ramaswami, C.J.