IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH CWP No.1500 of 2007 Date of decision : 17.11.2009 Jagmal Singh ….. Petitioner Versus Commissioner, Ambala Division etc. ….. Respondents Present: Mr. S.S. Dinarpur, Advocate for the petitioner. Mr. Sudhir Makkar, Sr. DAG, Haryana. Mr. Pritam Saini, Advocate for the respondents No.1 to 3. None for respondent No.5 to 9. Mr. Satish Chaudhary, Advocate for respondent No.10. **** S.S. SARON, J. Heard counsel for the parties. The dispute in the case relates to 5 marlas of land comprised in Rectangle No.8 Khasra No.17/2 situated in the revenue estate of village Hartaul, Tehsil Jagadhari, Distt. Yamuna Nagar. As per the Jamabandi for the year 2002-03 (Annexure R5/1), the said land is recorded under the Column of ownership as ‘Panchayat Deh’, in the column of cultivation, ‘Rafa-i-am’ is recorded and the kind of land is mentioned as ‘Gair Mumkin Panchayat ghar’. Learned counsel for the respondent-Gram Panchayat, Hartaul has submitted that the land was reserved for Panchayat garh. According to the learned counsel for the petitioner, the house of the petitioner has been constructed on the land measuring 5 marlas which has been there for the last more than 20 years. A reference has been made to the statement (Annexure P5) of Roshan Lal son of Phool Singh who appeared in the case titled Roshan Lal v. Jagmal Singh as AW1. In fact Roshan Lal (respondent No.4) had filed CWP No. 1500 of 2007 [2] a petition seeking eviction of the petitioner from the aforesaid land measuring 5 marlas claiming that the petitioner had encroached upon the land which belongs to the Panchayat and was Shamlat Deh within the meaning of Section 2(g) of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961 (as applicable in Haryana) (“Act” – for short). After giving my thoughtful consideration to the matter it may be noticed that Rule 12(4) of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Rules, 1964 (“Rules” – for short) envisages that the Gram Panchayat may with the prior approval of the State Government sell its non-cultivable land in Shamlat Deh to the inhabitants of the village who have constructed their houses on or before 31.3.2000, not resulting in any obstruction to the traffic and passers-by, along with open space upto 25% of the constructed area or an appurtenant area upto a maximum of 200 sq. yards at not less than the Collector rate. The Gram Panchayat has passed two resolutions dated 11.3.2004 (Annexure R1) and 27.1.2009 (Annexure R2) in this regard. In the resolution passed on 11.3.2004 (Annexure R1) it has been resolved that in respect of the case pending between the parties in the Court of Assistant Collector Grade I, Yamuna Nagar which had been decided on 23.9.2004 (Annexure P1), the Assistant Collector Grade I has ordered that an amount @ Rs.150/- per sq. yard be got deposited which was the Collector rate from the unauthorized occupant and a penalty of Rs.1,000/- had been imposed. As per the order passed by the Court, an amount of Rs.23,5000/- including 22,500/- as collector rate plus Rs.1000/- as penalty was got deposited from the petitioner. Thus, the Gram Panchayat resolved that registration of sale of aforesaid five marlas’ land be executed in favour of the petitioner. Vide resolution dated 27.1.2009 (Annexure R2) it was resolved that the Gram Panchayat would have no objection in accepting the value of the land nor CWP No. 1500 of 2007 [3] would there be any hurdle to the path etc. after accepting the value of the land. The question regarding sale of land in favour of unauthorized occupants who have constructed their houses on or before 31.3.2000 in fact is to be considered in accordance with the Rules and particularly Rule 12 (4) of the Rules referred to above. The Gram Panchayat is to take prior approval of the State Government in this regard before sale of the land in terms of Rule 12 (4). During the course of hearing, learned counsel for the parties were at some dispute as to whether the house of the petitioner had indeed been constructed or not? This aspect, however, would be considered by the Gram Panchayat and in case the house is constructed before 31.3.2000, the procedure provided by Rule 12(4) of the Rules shall be followed for consideration for allotment of the land. In the circumstances, the writ petition is disposed of with the direction that the Gram Panchayat shall consider the matter regarding sale of the land measuring 5 marlas to the petitioner in accordance with the Rules and particularly Rule 12(4) and in case the petitioner falls within the ambit of the said Rule and the Gram Panchayat is agreeable to sell the land, it shall seek prior approval from the State Government before selling the land. The Gram Panchayat shall consider the matter and in case it is agreeable to sell the land it shall refer the matter to the State Government within a period of one month from the receipt of copy of the order and the State Government shall consider the same within a further period of three months thereafter and till the expiry of the said period, the status quo with regard to the existing position shall be maintained. (S.S. SARON) November 17, 2009 JUDGE amit