IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH. C.W.P. No. 18937 of 2009 DATE OF DECISION : 07.12.2011 Ramphal .... PETITIONER Versus State of Haryana and others ..... RESPONDENTS CORAM :- HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SATISH KUMAR MITTAL HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE PARAMJEET SINGH Present: Mr. Aman Pal, Advocate, for the petitioner. Mr. Ajay Kumar Gupta, Addl. A.G., Haryana, for respondent No.1. Mr. Ashok Tyagi and Mr. S.P. Tyagi, Advocates, for respondents No.2 and 3. * * * SATISH KUMAR MITTAL , J. ( Oral ) Petitioner Ramphal has filed the instant petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for quashing the order dated 23.4.2008 (Annexure P-1), passed by the Assistant Collector Ist Grade, Sonepat, whereby on an application under Section 7 of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961 (As Applicable to Haryana) (hereinafter referred to as `the Act'), filed by Ramphul (respondent No.3 herein), a CWP No. 18937 of 2009 -2- resident of village Pehladpur Kidoli, Tehsil Kharkhauda, District Sonepat, father of the petitioner was ordered to be evicted from part of the public street bearing Khasra No. 2105; as well as the orders dated 31.12.2008 and 18.9.2009 (Annexures P-2 and P-5), passed by the Collector, Sonepat; and the Commissioner, Rohtak Division, Rohtak, respectively, vide which the appeal and the revision petition filed by the petitioner against the said order has been dismissed. We have heard learned counsel for the parties and gone through the impugned orders. Undisputedly, Khasra No. 2105 is a public passage, which was carved out for providing passage to Plots No. 2103, 2104, 2106 and 2114. The Assistant Collector Ist Grade, on the basis of the demarcation report dated 2.4.2006, came to the conclusion that the predecessor of the petitioner has illegally encroached upon part of the said passage bearing khasra No. 2105, and ordered his eviction. The said order was upheld by the Collector in appeal. Still feeling aggrieved against the said orders, the petitioner filed revision petition before the Commissioner. During the hearing before the Commissioner, the site in question was again got demarcated from Naib Tehsildar, Kharkhauda, who submitted his report on 2.9.2009. According to the said report also, the petitioner was found to have illegally encroached upon part of the public passage. In view of the said second demarcation report, which confirmed the earlier demarcation report, the revision petition filed by the petitioner has been dismissed on 18.9.2009. CWP No. 18937 of 2009 -3- Against these orders, the instant writ petition has been filed by the petitioner. Learned counsel for the petitioner argued that after filing of the instant petition, the petitioner has filed a title suit under Section 13-A of the Act raising the question of title regarding the disputed site. In the present petition also, he argued that the petitioner raised the question of title before the authorities below, but the same has not been considered. The aforesaid contention of learned counsel for the petitioner has no force. Admittedly, Khasra No. 2105 is a public passage. In view of Section 2 (g) (4) of the Act, it vests in the Gram Panchayat, therefore, in our opinion, in the present case, no question of title is involved or can be raised at all. It appears that on one pretext or the other, the petitioner is not removing the illegal encroachment on the public street, which is causing hindrance to the general public. In view of a pure finding of fact, recorded by the authorities below, based upon the demarcation report and the revenue record, we do not find any illegality in the impugned orders, passed by the authorities below, whereby the petitioner has been ordered to be evicted from part of the public passage. In a recent judgment rendered by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Jagpal Singh and others Versus State of Punjab and others (Civil Appeal No. 1132/2011, decided on January 28, 2011, the Apex Court has directed that the illegal/unauthorised occupants of Gram Panchayat lands should be evicted without any delay. In view of the above, the instant writ petition is dismissed and CWP No. 18937 of 2009 -4- the Deputy Commissioner, Sonepat, is directed to immediately get the illegal encroachment removed and send the compliance report to this Court. ( SATISH KUMAR MITTAL ) JUDGE December 07, 2011 ( PARAMJEET SINGH ) ndj JUDGE