Judgment

CHANDRACHUD, CJI.:- Eight writ petitions were filed in the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, involving a common question of law as to the alleged repugnancy between the Administration of Evacuee Property Act of 1950 and, the Punjab village Common Lands (Regulation) Act of 1953 (referred to herein as the Punjab Act of 1953). Four, out of the eight writ petitions, relate to lands situated in the State of Haryana, while the remaining four relate to lands situated in the State of Punjab.

2. The controversy in the writ petitions is between the right of the Gram Panchayats to the Shamlat-deh lands situated in these villages which fall within their jurisdiction and, on the other hand, the right of the Rehabilitation Department of the Central Government to allot lands of that description, to the extent of the evacuee interest therein, to persons who migrated from Pakistan to India after the partition of the country. The contention of the Central Government and, of persons to, whom its Rehabilitation Department has allotted the Shamlat-deh lands on their migration to India, is that the interest, in such lands, of the Muslims who migrated to Pakistan is evacuee property which the Cent