CIVIL WRIT PETITION NO. 17879 OF 2007 -1- IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH. DATE OF DECISION: May 8, 2009. Parties Name Baldev Singh and another ..PETITIONERS VERSUS State of Punjab and others ...RESPONDENTS CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE T.S.THAKUR, CHIEF JUSTICE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE JASBIR SINGH PRESENT: Mr. R.S. Bains, Advocate, for the petitioners Mr. Amol Rattan Singh, Addl. A.G., Punjab, for respondents No. 1 to 4. Mr. Vaibhav Narang, Advocate, for respondents No. 5 to 7. JASBIR SINGH, J. JUDGMENT Petitioners, by filing this writ petition, have prayed that directions be issued to the official respondents to hold an enquiry, through Vigilance Department, regarding allegation that respondents No. 5 and 6 CIVIL WRIT PETITION NO. 17879 OF 2007 -2- have grabbed a vast track of land, which was ownership of respondent No. 7. It is case of the petitioners that respondents No. 5 and 6 have fraudulently got transferred that land, in their favour. The land in dispute was gifted to respondent No. 7 by right holders of village Thatha, district TarnTaran, through Baba Kharak Singh, who was only a Manager , and as such was not competent to transfer that land in the name of respondent No. 5 or any other person. The above named respondents, in connivance with each other, have got transferred vast track of land in the name of respondent No. 5 vide sale deed dated June 7, 1979 (Ex. P-2). It is further alleged that by ignoring the Managing Committee, respondents No. 5 and 6 are running affairs of the College in a very arbitrary manner. They have caused huge loss to the Institution by adopting unfair and illegal means in the administration of the same. They have embezzled amount of rent of the shops and sale proceeds of agricultural produce of respondent No. 7. It has been prayed that necessary action be initiated against them as per law. In response to notice, reply has been filed by respondent No. 5, wherein it has been stated that the petitioners have filed this writ petition at the instance of Balkar Singh, Gurmeet Singh and Major Singh Kaisel, who are inimical to the Managing Committee of the College. Balkar Singh was working as a Lecturer in respondent No. 7, however, on account of his misconduct, he was removed from service. Gurmeet Singh was expelled from the Managing Committee of the College. To show connivance between the petitioners and the above named persons, news cuttings from Newspaper Daily Ajit and Jagbani dated October 18, 2007 and October 19, 2007, respectively have been put on record. In the photograph, petitioner Baldev CIVIL WRIT PETITION NO. 17879 OF 2007 -3- Singh was shown sitting with above named persons at the time of a press conference. It has further been stated that Baba Kharak Singh died on May 30, 1986. He has played very important roll in establishing respondent No. 7 – the College. 110 Kanals and 8 Marlas of land, situated in village Thathgarh, was purchased from the Government. It was Banjar Kadim and uncultivable land. Taking note of the same, Managing Committee decided to sell that land, by passing a resolution on September 20, 1978, to Baba Kharak Singh for a sum of Rs. 27,000/-. Thereafter sale deed was executed. Amount realised was deposited in the account of respondent No. 7. It is further case of respondent No. 5 that Baba Kharak Singh had left a registered Will dated November 22, 1976, in his favour. Before his death, Baba Kharak Singh had executed a sale deed Ex. P2 in favour of the answering respondent for consideration. It is further pleaded that some land was gifted to Baba Kharak Singh by Kundan Singh son of Sardar Bahadur Achhar Singh. However, due to some inadvertent mistake, land was mutated in the name of respondent No. 7. When above said mistake was detected, Managing Committee passed a resolution on September 18, 1977, admitting that the land was actually gifted to Baba Kharak Singh and it was proposed that the land in question be mutated in his name. Mutation was accordingly sanctioned in the year 1978. Respondent No. 5 has further stated that he had donated land measuring 102 Kanals 4 Marlas to the College vide gift deed dated January 9, 1995, upon which the Institution is functioning. Prayer for dismissal of the writ petition has been made. After hearing counsel for the parties, we are convinced that under the garb of public interest litigation, the petitioners are trying to settle their personal scores with respondents No. 5 and 6. News cuttings CIVIL WRIT PETITION NO. 17879 OF 2007 -4- Annexures R5/1 and R5/2 clearly indicate that the petitioners are in league with Balkar Singh and Gurmeet Singh, who were not on good terms with respondents No. 5 and 6. Above said fact is apparent from reading of a complaint earlier made by Balkar Singh etc., to the higher authorities alleging mal-functioning in the Management of the College. That complaint was also signed by one of the petitioners. Furthermore, it is a stale matter. Land was sold vide sale deed Ex. P2 in favour of respondent No. 5 in the year 1979. Prior thereto land was sold to Baba Kharak Singh, for consideration of Rs. 27,000/-, on the basis of a resolution passed by the Managing Committee of the College on September 20, 1978. Some more land was transferred in the name of Baba Kharak Singh on the basis of another resolution passed by the Managing Committee on September 18, 1977. It has also come on record that on a complaint, to which one of the petitioners was a signatory, an enquiry was conducted by the Sub Divisional Magistrate, TarnTaran, who gave many opportunities to the complainants to support their version, however, when the complainants failed to appear before him, he dismissed the complaint on April 3, 2007 (Annexure R5/10). Shri Bains tried to impress upon us that the resolution, passed by the Managing Committee earlier, sale deed/ gift deed etc. in favour of Baba Kharak Singh and respondent No. 5 were forged. Above said fact has seriously been disputed by the respondents. We are of the opinion that while exercising extra -ordinary jurisdiction under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India, it is not possible for us to give any such finding, especially when facts are disputed. Furthermore, resolutions were passed in the year 1977-78. Sale deed was executed in the year 1978-79. It is doubtful CIVIL WRIT PETITION NO. 17879 OF 2007 -5- whether at this belated stage petitioners will be in a position to lay challenge to those transactions. As has been discussed earlier, it appears that the petitioners are fighting some body else's battle. Such like writ petition cannot be entertained in Public Interest. No case is made out for interference. Dismissed. (JASBIR SINGH) JUDGE (T.S. THAKUR) CHIEF JUSTICE May 8, 2009. DKC