IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH. Civil Writ Petition No.4255 of 2010 DATE OF DECISION : MARCH 15, 2011 NIRDOSH KUMAR ....... PETITIONER(S) VERSUS FINANCIAL COMMISSIONER APPEALS-II, PUNJAB & ORS. .... RESPONDENT(S) CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AJAI LAMBA PRESENT:Mr. SK Singla, Advocate, for the petitioner(s). Mr. GS Attariwala, Addl.AG, Punjab. Mr. RS Chauhan, Advocate, for respondent No.4. AJAI LAMBA, J. (Oral) 1 This decision shall deal with CWP 4255 of 2010 (Nirdosh Kumar v. Financial Commissioner Appeals-II, Punjab and others) and CWP 6367of 2010 (Surinder Pal v. Financial Commissioner, Cooperation, Punjab and others), as common questions of law and facts are involved. 2 For reference to record, CWP 4255 of 2010 (Nirdosh Kumar v. Financial Commissioner Appeals-II, Civil Writ Petition No.4255 of 2010 2 Punjab and others) is being taken up. 3 Petitioner-Nirdosh Kumar was appointed as Lambardar for Village Gohawar, Tehsil Phillaur, District Jalandhar by the District Collector, Jalandhar, vide order dated 20.3.2008/25.3.2008 (Annexure P-1). Respondent No.4-Surinderpal carried an appeal before the Commissioner, Jalandhar Division, Jalandhar, which has been dismissed vide order dated 15.9.2008 (Annexure P-2). Respondent No.4 further carried a revision petition before the Financial Commissioner, Punjab. The Financial Commissioner has remanded the case to the District Collector, Jalandhar, asking the Collector to invite fresh applications for appointment of Lambardar for Village Gohawar. 4 While the petitioner has filed the present petition claiming a better right to be appointed as Lambardar for Village Gohawar, he being the choice of District Collector, which has been upheld by the Commissioner in appellate jurisdiction, respondent No.4 has filed CWP 6367 of 2010, claiming a better right to be appointed as Lambardar for the Village. 5 So far as the petitioner is concerned, he has been found to be a permanent employee of Municipal Council, Phagwara and, therefore, it has been held that he Civil Writ Petition No.4255 of 2010 3 would not be available for discharging duties, as provided under Rule 20 of the Punjab Land Revenue Rules. 6 Learned counsel for the petitioner contends that eligibility of the petitioner for being appointed as Lambardar, cannot be questioned in view of the law on the issue. 7 There is no dispute in regard to the settled legal position that a Government employee would be eligible to be considered for appointment to the post of Lambardar, however, the District Collector is also required to see the suitability of a person, in the context of duties to be discharged under Rule 20 of the Punjab Land Revenue Rules. This Court has considered the issue in CWP 1143 of 2011 (Dharam Pal v. Financial Commissioner, Haryana and others) decided on 21.1.2011. Following has been held in paras 11 and 12:- “11. I am, however, not convinced with the argument in so much as the petitioner is serving on a transferable post, though within the district. The issue of availability of Lambardar in the village is required to be considered in context of duties to be discharged by such functionary. Duties to be discharged by a headman/ Lambardar are given out in Rule 20 of the Punjab Land Revenue Rules which when extracted, read as under:- “20. Duties of headman.- In addition to the duties imposed upon headman by law for Civil Writ Petition No.4255 of 2010 4 any purpose, a headman shall— (i)collect by due date all land revenue and all sums, recoverable as land revenue from the estate, or sub-division of an estate in which he holds office, and pay the same personally or by revenue money order or by remittance of currency notes through the post [or at places where treasury business is conducted by the {State Bank of India or any Scheduled Bank as notified by the State Government from time to time}, by cheque on a local Bank] at the place and time appointed in that behalf to the Revenue Officer or assignee empowered by Government to receive it; (ii)collect the rents and other income of the common land, and the account for them to the persons entitled thereto; (iii)acknowledge every payment received by him in the books of the landowners and tenants; (iv)defray joint expenses of the estate and render accounts thereof as may be duly required of him; (v)report to the Tehsildar the death or any assignee of land revenue or Government pensioner residing in the estate, or the marriage or re-marriage of a female drawing a family pension and residing in the estate, or the absence of any such person for more than a year]; (vi)report to the Tehsildar and Collector all encroachments on and injury to the roads, public streets and Government, Nazul and Panchayat land;] (vii)report any injury to Government buildings made over to his charge; (viii)carry out, to the best of his ability, any orders that he may receive from the Civil Writ Petition No.4255 of 2010 5 Collector requiring him to furnish information or to assist in providing on payment supplies or means of transport for troops or for officers of Government on duty; (ix)assist in such manner as the Collector may from time to time direct at all crop inspections, recording of mutations, surveys, preparation of records of right, or other revenue business carried on within the limits of the estate; (x)attend the summons of all authorities having jurisdiction in the estate, assist all officers of the Government in the execution of their public duties, supply, to the best of his ability any local information which those officers may require, and generally act for the landowners, tenants and residents of the estate or sub-division of the estate in which he holds office in their relations with Government; (xi)report to the Patwari any outbreak of disease among animals [or human beings]; (xii)report to the Patwari the deaths of any rightholders in their estates; (xiii)report any breach or cut in a Government irrigation canal or channel to the nearest canal officer, or canal Patwari; (xiv)under the general or special directions of the Collector, assist by the use of his personal influence and otherwise all officers of Government and other persons, duly authorised by the Collector, in the collection and enrolment of recruits for military service whether combatant or non-combatant; (xv)render all possible assistance to the village postman, while passing the night in the village, in safeguarding the cash and other valuables that he carried.” Civil Writ Petition No.4255 of 2010 6 12. Consideration of the nature of duties indicates that a Lambardar is required to remain present, by and large at all hours, in the village for discharge of his duties. The duties involve active interaction with the villagers/residents of the area. Headman/ Lambardar is required to be aware of the deaths in the village for various reports to be made. He is required to be aware of the pensioners residing in the estate; marriage/ re-marriage of a female drawing family pension residing in the estate or in case any such person goes absent from estate. He is also required to be aware of the encroachments on roads or Government buildings within the boundaries of estate. He is required to conduct crop inspections so as to assist the Collector. He is further required to attend the summons of authorities having jurisdiction in the estate and assist all officers of the Government in execution of their public duties.” 8 Surely, the petitioner is eligible to be considered for appointment as Lambardar, however, he being in service outstation, would not be suitable. No fault can be traced in para-5 of the order passed by the Financial Commissioner in this regard. 9 So far as claim of respondent No.4 is concerned, it has been found that he is an unemployed person and has encroached upon Gram Panchayat land. The Gram Panchayat has registered a report in that regard with the Civil Writ Petition No.4255 of 2010 7 police. This has been recorded in para-4 of the order passed by the Financial Commissioner. It would, certainly, be a disability in the claim of a person for appointment as Lambardar, if the person is in unauthorised possession of Gram Panchayat land. If the person is in unauthorised possession of Gram Panchayat land, surely, he cannot be considered as a candidate fit to be appointed as Lambardar. A Lambardar, under Rule 20, in fact, is required to report to the Tehsildar, all encroachments on roads, including village roads, or on Government wasteland and injury to or appropriation of Nazul property situated within the boundaries of the estate. If the Lambardar himself is in unauthorised possession of Panchayat land, surely he would not make a good choice for appointment as Lambardar. 10 In such circumstances, I am of the considered opinion that the Financial Commissioner has not committed any illegality in remanding the case to the District Collector for inviting fresh applications for appointment as Lambardar. In such circumstances, both the petitions are dismissed. 11 It is, however, made clear that, in case petitioner-Nirdosh Kumar and respondent No.4-Surinderpal apply for appointment as Lambardar again, the District Civil Writ Petition No.4255 of 2010 8 Collector would be at liberty to consider their claim, in case their claim does not suffer from any disability at the point in time, when fresh applications are invited. March 15, 2011 ( AJAI LAMBA ) Kang JUDGE 1.To be referred to the Reporters or not? 2.Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest?