Allotment case of Hukam Singh

IN THE COURT OF SHRI S.S.KHARA, P.C.S ADDITIONAL DIRECTOR CONSOLIDATION-CUM-MANAGING OFFICER, REVENUE & REHABILITATION DEPARTMENT PUNJAB (KOTHI NO.280 SECTOR 10-A, CHANDIGARH.

Kartar Singh son of Shri Hukam Singh son of Shri Sher Singh Village Kauli Tehsil and District Patiala.
 
Versus

State.

Application for allotment of land abandoned by Sh. Hukam Singh son of Sher Singh in village Mauza Chak Abas and Chak Bhagwala Tehsil and District Rahim Yaar Khan, Bhawalpur State.

                                                                                ORDER

The brief facts of this case are summarized as follows:-

One Shri Inder Singh claiming to be General Power of Attorney of Kartar Singh son of Hukam Singh resident of village Kauli Tehsil and Distt. Patiala filed an application on 13.9.84 to the Deputy Secretary Rehabilitation by alleging that Hukam Singh son of Sher Singh, father of Kartar Singh, had left agricultural land measuring 70 Acres 2 Kanals in Chak Abas and Chak Bagwala Tehsil Rahim Yaar Khan (Bahawalpur). In that application he further stated that Hukam Singh had applied for allotment of land situated in Bahawalpur State on 25.2.1952 wherein an ex-parte order was passed on 11.8.1952 by A.R.Rehabilitation Department, Jalandhar and he made another application on 25.1.1954 wherein an ex-parte order was passed on 4.6.1959 by the A.R.III Rehabilitation Department, Jalandhar. This application dated 13.9.84 was processed by the then Managing Officer but the same was dismissed vide order dated 8.10.1984 on the ground that his request for allotment had since been rejected by the Managing Officer on 4.6.1959 on the ground that the petitioner or his father had never filed any claim for allotment of land. An appeal was filed before the Settlement Commissioner against the order dated 8.10.1984 of the Managing Officer who remanded the case vide his order dated 31.10.1984 for fresh decision observing that the petitioner had made applications for allotment of land before 31.12.63 as required under rule 67-A of Displaced Persons (C & R) Rules, 1955. On remand the Managing Officer again rejected the claim of the petitioner vide his order dated 25.3.1985 on the ground that the petitioner had failed to lodge his claim for allotment before the appointed date i.e. 31.12.63 despite the fact that there was ample time and opportunity for doing so during the period from 1959 to 1963. The petitioner challenged this order dated 25.3.1985 in appeal under section 22 of the Displaced Persons (C & R) Act, 1954 before the Settlement Commissioner who passed order dated 9.12.1985 thereby quashing the order dated 25.3.1985 of Managing Officer and remanded the case for fresh decision.

The case of the petitioner was again considered at length by the Managing Officer, Rehabilitation Department, Punjab, Chandigarh but he dismissed his petition vide order dated 19.8.1986. He took note of the fact the order dated 4.6.59 rejecting the application of the petitioner had been passed on the ground that Hukam Singh or the petitioner had never filed Mutalaba claim in the absence of which no allotment could be made and the intimation of that order had been sent to the petitioner. He also observed that even if no intimation regarding the rejection of his application by Managing Officer on 4.6.59 was sent, it was incumbent on the petitioner to file aforesaid application before 31.12.63 under rule 67-A of the Displaced Persons (C & R) Rules, 1954 in response to the Press Note issued in Sept.,1963 which was not done by him. He further took cognizance of the fact that after the order dated 4.6.59 the petitioner remained silent for about 25 years and applied for allotment only on 13.9.1984 without relying upon any verified claim.

The order dated 19.8.86 of the Managing Officer was challenged in appeal under section 22 of the Displaced Persons (C & R) Act before the Settlement Commissioner, Rehabilitation Department, Punjab, Chandigarh by Kartar Singh petitioner. The Settlement Commissioner accepted the appeal vide his order dated 30.3.87 and while quashing the order dated 19.8.1986 he remanded the case to the Tehsildar-Sales-cum-Managing Officer, Rehabilitation Department with the direction that the matter should be examined afresh to determine the eligibility of the petitioner for the allotment of land to him.

In pursuance of this remand order the matter was dealt with by Sh.S.M.Sharma Tehsildar (HQ)-cum-Managing Officer and he passed order dated 14.12.1988. Kartar Singh was declared eligible for the allotment of land measuring 23 Std. Acres 12½ units of land in lieu of land abandoned by him in Chak Abas in Bahawalpur State. He directed that necessary Goshwara be prepared and sent as per option of the claimant after obtaining clearance from the Government. Subsequently clearance was given at Govt. level vide No.P-IV(927)97/1270 dated 9.9.1997. Financial Commissioner Revenue, Punjab vide detailed order dated 13.9.2000 ordered, for withdrawing the abovesaid clearance. In this order Financial Commissioner Revenue pointed out large number of irregularities in finalizing the case by the then Managing Officer (Sh.S.M.Sharma) as well as at the level of Govt. and the case was remanded to me for a fresh decision after making a detailed inquiry in light of the above observations contained in abovesaid order dated 13.9.2000.

In compliance with the above said remand order Sh. Kartar Singh appeared before the undersigned. On 17.10.2000 his detailed statement was recorded. In this statement Sh. Kartar Singh pointed out that his father Hukam Singh s/o Sher Singh s/o Phoola Singh was a resident of village Khairpur near Shahar Sultan District Muzaffargarh, Punjab (Pakistan) and he as owning 25 acres of land in village Chak Abas and village Bagwala Tehsil Rhim Yaar Khan (Bahawalpur State). He admitted that he was born on 15^th June, 1926 and he was recruited Patwari in the year 1942 and he was posted in his own village Khairpur Tehsil Alipur District Muzaffargarh now in Pakistan. After partition of the country he was assigned Hoshiarpur District as Patwari and he was posted in village Porika Sub Tehsil Mukerian. After one year he was posted in Rehabilitation Department at Jalandhar where he remained posted for one year. After that he was again transferred to old Patwar Circle Porika. In the year 1951 he was transferred to Rajpura Tehsil where in 1955 he was promoted as Kanungo and at the time of bifurcation as Punjab & Haryana he was posted at Ambala. After that he was posted in Consolidation Department in Haryana upto 1968-69. He came back in Revenue Department in Haryana and after giving him two years extension in service, he was retired in the year 1986 as Wasil Waki Nawis from Ambala District. He admitted in his statement that he has 3 sisters & two brothers. All the three sisters are married and reside in village Kauli and his youngest brother Kuldip Singh is a driver with Executive Engineer at Bhatinda. He further stated that he know nothing about filing the Mutalaba claim or whether his father had got any cash compensation or not in lieu of his land of his native village as well as of village Chak Abas. It is not in his knowledge that his father had applied on 25.2.1952 and 1954 for allotment of land in Sonepat District. They have never resided in village Bega (Sonepat). His father had filed Mutalba claim in respect of land left in village Chak Abas but he had not filed any claim in respect of land of village Bagwala. He belongs to Rajput Caste and only his father and his father-in-law from the Rajput Baradari had land in village Chak Abas. He stated that his father expired about 20-25 years ago at the age of 85-90 years.

In the previous statement recorded on 28.11.1988 above Kartar Singh had claimed that he is the only legal heir of his father as he has no brother or sister. But in the statement recorded on 17.10.2000 Sh. Kartar Singh admitted that he has two brothers and three sisters. So his two brothers were also summoned. Shri Kartar Singh and other brothers were given sufficient opportunities to adduce to the documentary evidence such as mutalaba claim, copy of jamabandi etc. in order to prove that Hukam Singh had abandoned land in village Chak Abas or village Bagwala as since 1984 Sh. Kartar Singh had not placed any solid and authentic proof on the case file. On 4.1.2001 the third brother Sh. Kuldip Singh, who is a driver with XEN, Punjab Mandi Board, Bathinda, got recorded his statement to the effect that he has nothing to do with the case filed by his brother Kartar Singh. He is not willing to pursue this case as he has no such evidence in order to pursue this case. Today on 11.1.2001 Sh.Kartar Singh and his other brother Sh.Amrik Singh got recorded their joint statement that they are not interested in pursuing the present case as they have no solid proof for presenting the solid facts in support of their claim case. They further stated that other brother and sisters have also not given their willingness to pursue the case and Sh. Kuldip Singh their younger brother has already recorded his statement in this connection.

After going through all the facts and circumstances of the case in the light of observations of FCR’s order dated 13.9.2000 I have come to the conclusion that Sh.Hukum Singh had not abandoned any land either in his native village i.e. Khairpur or in Chak Abas or Bagwala of Behawalpur State in Pakistan. In the applications filed by Sh. Hukum Singh during 1952 and 1954 no such evidence was attached and they were rejected by the competent authority. Later on Sh.Kartar Singh started litigation in 1984 after remaining in deep slumber for 25 years and it is intriguing that he concealed all this litigation from his two brothers & 3 sisters and in his statement dated 28.11.1988 Sh. Kartar Singh categorically said that he is the only legal heir of Hukum Singh as he has no brother or sister. All this indicates that there was some deeper conspiracy. Kartar Singh is an educated man and in Govt. service he remained as Patwari/Kanungo from 1944 to 1986. It was not difficult for him to gather and adduce evidence as he was supposed to be in the know of such affairs. But all through these years he could not place any solid and authentic documentary evidence which could prove his claim beyond doubt. Finally today petitioner Kartar Singh and his brother Amrik Singh clearly conceded that they have no solid evidence to prove their alleged claim and they have no objection if the case is dismissed or filed and they do not want to pursue the case further. Their third brother Kuldip Singh had already conceded all this on the last Peshi of 4.1.2001.

Keeping in view the above factual position the present application/petition is dismissed.

Announced in the open Court.

Dated: 11.01.2001

( S.S.KHARA ) P.C.S.

Chandigarh

. Managing Officer (Hd. Qtrs.)

Department of Revenue and Rehabilitation, Punjab, Chandigarh.