Case: Bhagwan Das Vs. The State Of Punjab

and improvements due to good husbandry or advent of irrigation should be ignored. On August 22, 1961, the Punjab High Court allowed a petition preferred by respondent No. 4 under Art. 227 of the Constitution of India and set aside the orders of the Collector, the Commissioner and the Financial Commissioner. The High Court held that the status of the appellant must be determined by evaluating his land in terms of standard acres on the date of the application for ejectment. The appellant now appeals to this Court by special leave. 3. The question is whether the appellant is a small landowner within the meaning of S. 9 (1) (I) of the Act. On a combined reading of Ss. 2, 3, 4, 5, 5A, 5B, 5C, 10A, 19A and 19B, the scheme of the Act appears to be as follows. The entire land held by the landowner in the State of Punjab on the date of the commencement of the Act must be evaluated as on that date and the status of the landowners and his surplus, area, if any, must be then ascertained. If he is then found to be a small landowner, he continues to be so for the purpose of the Act, until he acquires more land, and on taking into account the value of the land in terms of standard acres on the date of acquisition, he is found to be a big landowner. The landowner is required to make the necessary reservations or selections and to give the necessary declarations so that his status and the surplus area, if any, held by him may be so determined. If he is a small landowner at the commencement of the Act, his status is not altered by reason of improvements in the value of his land or re-allotment of land on compulsory consolidation of holdings. 4. In an unreported decision in Surja v. Financial Commissioner of Punjab, Civil Writ No. 486 of 1961 (Punj), the Punjab High Court held that the status of the landowner for the purposes of an application under S. 14A of the Act should be determined by evaluating his land on the date of the application. On the basis of this ruling, the improvements in the land subsequent to the commencement of the Act could not be ignored; but the Legislature considered that this decision had an effect of defeating the purpose of the Act. It is well known that with a view to get rid of this decision, the Legislature inserted S. 19-F (b) in the Act by the Punjab Security of Land Tenures (Amendment and Validation) Act, 1962 (Punjab Act No. 14 of 1962). The object of this amendment will appear from the following passage in the statements of Objects and Reasons published in the Punjab Gazette (Extr.), dated April 27, 1962:"Some of the recent judicial pronouncements have the effect of defeating the objectives with which the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act 1953 was enacted and amended from time to time. Under the scheme of the parent Act a specific period was allowed for filing of reservations by the landowners the object of which was to find out whether a person was a small landowner or not. Once that was found the intention was that such a person should continue to be treated as such for the purposes of the Act so long as he did not acquire more lands. In other words, his status was not to be altered on account of improvements made on the land or reallotment of land during consolidation. However, the High Court took a different view in Civil Writ No. 486 of 1961 (Punj). Accordingly Cls. 3, 6 and 7 of the Bill seek to neutralise the effect of the aforesaid decisions" Clause 7 of the Bill related to Ss. 19-E and 19-F. The amending Act of 1962 was passed on July 4, 1962 during the pendency of the appeal in this Court. Section 19-F is retrospective in operation and is deemed to have come into force on April 15, 1953.Section 19-F (b) reads:"19-F. For the removal of doubts it is hereby declared,- xx xx xx xx (b) that for evaluating the land of any person at any time under this Act, the land owned by him immediately before the commencement of this Act. "or the land acquired by him after such commencement by inheritance or by bequest or gift from a person to whom he is an heir, shall always be evaluated for converting into standard acres as if the evaluation was being made on the date of such commencement, and that the land acquired by him after such commencement in any manner shall always be evaluated for converting into standard acres as if the evaluation was being made on the date of such acquisition." On a reading of S. 19-F (b), it would appear that for the purposes of determining the status of the landowner and evaluating his land at any time under the Act, the land owned by him immediately before the commencement of the Act must always be evaluated in terms of standard acres as if the evaluation was being made on the date of such commencement. It is not disputed that if the land held by the appellant immediately before the commencement of the Act is so evaluated, the appellant would be a small landowner. There is no scope for evaluating the subsequent improvements in the land due to consolidation operations or otherwise. The appellant did not acquire any land after the commencement of the Act. His status as a small landowner was not altered by reason of subsequent improvements or re-allotments of land on compulsory consolidation of holdings. On the date of the application for eviction, he, therefore, continued to be a small landowner. The High Court was in error in holding that the status of the appellant should be determined by evaluating his land in terms of standard acres on the date of the application for eviction.

Decision (1 = appeal accepted, 0 = rejected): 1

Explanation:
1[ds]On a reading of S. 19-F (b), it would appear that for the purposes of determining the status of the landowner and evaluating his land at any time under the Act, the land owned by him immediately before the commencement of the Act must always be evaluated in terms of standard acres as if the evaluation was being made on the date of such commencement. It is not disputed that if the land held by the appellant immediately before the commencement of the Act is so evaluated, the appellant would be a small landowner. There is no scope for evaluating the subsequent improvements in the land due to consolidation operations or otherwise. The appellant did not acquire any land after the commencement of the Act. His status as a small landowner was not altered by reason of subsequent improvements or re-allotments of land on compulsory consolidation of holdings. On the date of the application for eviction, he, therefore, continued to be a small landowner. The High Court was in error in holding that the status of the appellant should be determined by evaluating his land in terms of standard acres on the date of the application for eviction.