Judgment

KAPUR, J. : The petitioners have moved this Court under Art, 32 of the Constitution for a writ of mandamus against the respondent to verify the claims put forward by the petitioners and to grant compensation in respect thereof; but there is little merit to commend the acceptance of the petition.

2. The petitioners are displaced persons from West Punjab which is now known as West Pakistan and have taken up their residences in different parts of India. They put forward certain claims in regard to village houses which they had left in West Pakistan and which were situated in different villages. The petitioners have in their petition set out their respective claims which were rejected by the Rehabilitation authorities. It is unnecessary to give details of the properties in the various villages in regard to which claims were made. It is sufficient to say that the claims were put forward and they were for amounts above Rs. 20,000 in the case of petitioners Nos. 1 and 2 and above Rs. 10,000 in the case of petitioner Nos. 3 to 6.

3. The petitioners challenge the vires of two rules- Rule 5 under the Displaced Persons (Claims) Supplementary Act, 1954, (Act XII of 1954) and R. 65 of the Rules made under the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation Act), Act 44 of 1954. The challenge is on the ground of violation of Art. 14 of the Constitution. It is necessary at this stage to set out the various acts and regulations which were passed in regard to displaced persons dealing with verification of their claims and the giving of compensation to them.

4. On April 1, 1948, the East Punjab Refugees (Registration of Claims) Act, 1948. East Punjab Act VIII of 1948, was passed and this was followed by the East Punjab Refugees (Registration of Land Claims) Act, XII of 1948. In the latter Act "land" was defined in S. 2(b) to mean

"land which is not occupied as the site of any building in a town or village and is occupied or left for agricultural purposes or for purposes subservient to agriculture or for pasture and includes-

(i) the sites of buildings and other structures on such land;". Under S. 2(a) "claim" was defined as

"a statement of loss or damage suffered by a refugee since the first day of March 1947, in respect of his land within the territory now comprised in the Province of (Punjab in Pakistan), North West Frontier Province, Sind or Balulchistan, or in any State adjacent to the aforesaid Provinces and acceding to Pakistan"

Section 4(1) of that Act made provision for submission for registration of claims in respect of land abandoned by a refugee.

5. On November 19, 1949, East Punjab Displaced Persons (Land Settlement Act) 1949, East Punjab Act XXXVI of 1949, was passed. By S.2(b) of this Act the word "allottee" was defined and by S. 2(d) "land" was defined. This definition which was slightly different from the definition in the East Punjab Act (act XII of 1948) was as follows:-

S. 2(d) "Land" means land which is not urban land and is not occupied as the site of any building in town or village and is occupied or let for agricultural purposes or for purposes subservient to agriculture or for pasture and includes-

(i) the sites of buildings and other structures on such land;".On May 18, 1950, another Act, the Displaced Persons (Claims) Act, 44 of 1950 was passed by the Central Legislature. In this Act "claim" was defined in S. 2(a) as "the assertion of a right to the ownership of, or to any interest in-

(i)...... ... ...... ...... ......

(ii) such class of property in any part of West Pakistan other than in any urban area as may be notified by the Central Government in this behalf in the Official Gazette;".

This Act was in force for two years and then lapsed. Under S.2(a) (ii) the Central Government issued a notification on May 27, 1950, specifying the property in respect of which claims might be submitted. The properties were:-

"(1) Any immoveable property in West Pakistan which forms part of the assets of an industrial undertaking and is