In the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh ...... C.W.P. No.17327 of 2009 ..... Date of decision:12.11.2009 Gurjant Singh .....Petitioner v. Director-cum-Commissioner, Rural Development & Panchayats Department, Punjab and others .....Respondents .... Present: Mr. N.P.S. Mann, Advocate for the petitioner. ..... S.S. Saron, J. Gram Panchayat of Village Badrukhan, Tehsil and District Sangrur (respondent No.3) filed an application under Section 7 of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961 (`Act' – for short) for evicting the petitioner from the land measuring 3 Kanals 8 Marlas comprised in Khasra No.126//30 (1-1) `Gair Mumkin' toilets and Khasra No.272 Min. (2-7) out of 21-9-1/3 `Gair Mumkin' pond. The petitioner contested the said application and stated that the Gram Panchayat (respondent No.3) had no concern with the land and he was in possession of the same. It was stated by the petitioner that `Smadhs' of his elders were situated in the land for the last 50-52 years. The land was being used by him and his family members without interruption and in an open manner. The District Development and Panchayat Officer-cum-Collector, Sangrur vide order dated 27.2.2006 (Annexure-P.6) passed an order for assessing the market value of the land in dispute by the Collector and asking the petitioner to deposit the requisite amount within three months. The Gram Panchayat (respondent No.3) aggrieved against the said order filed an C.W.P. No.17327 of 2009 [2] appeal (Annexure-P.7) which has been allowed by the Director, Rural Development and Panchayats, Punjab, Chandigarh, exercising the powers of the Commissioner vide order dated 20.5.2009 (Annexure-P.8) which is assailed in the present petition. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner has referred to the site plan (Annexure-P.3) to contend that the land of the petitioner surrounds the land in dispute on three sides and, therefore, the said land is of no use to the Gram Panchayat and the same is liable to be sold to him for which he is willing to deposit the price. Besides, even the Gram Panchayat is willing to sell the land to the petitioner. After giving my thoughtful consideration to the matter, it may be noticed that the land in dispute is `Shamilat Deh' within the meaning of Section 2(g) of the Act. One parcel of the land comprised in Khasra No.126//30 (1-1) is `Gair Marusi' toilets and the other parcels of the land measuring 2 Kanals 7 Marlas out of 21-9-1/3 in Khasra No.272 Min. is `Gair Mumkin' pond. Therefore, the land is recorded in revenue record for common purposes and the petitioner has no right to the land. The fact that the `Smadhs' of the elders of the petitioners are there on the land in dispute is not borne out from the revenue record. The land in dispute vests in the Gram Panchayat (respondent No.3) and the petitioner cannot claim the same on his mere asking. Accordingly, there is no merit in the petition and the same is dismissed. November 12, 2009. (S.S. Saron) Judge *hsp* C.W.P. No.17327 of 2009 [3] NOTE: Whether to be referred to the Reporter or not:Yes/No