Judgment

YOGESHWAR DAYAL, J.:- This is an appeal against the judgment of the Rajasthan High Court dated 19th July, 1979 passed in D. B. Civil Writ Petition No 681 of 1978 (Raghubir Singh v. The Board of Revenue for Rajasthan and others) and D. B. Civil Writ Petition No. 769 of 1979 (Surendrapal Singh v. The Board of Revenue for Rajasthan and others). These writ petitions were decided by the aforesaid common judgment. The first writ petition was filed by the father Raghubir Singh whereas the second writ petitions was filed by his minor son Surendrapal Singh through his next friend Shri Jagjit Singh, maternal grand-father of the minor. The relief claimed in both the petitions before the High Court was the same, namely - for setting aside of the order dated 6th August. 1977 passed by the Board of Revenue for Rajasthan, Ajmer.

2. The facts of the case briefly are - that proceedings under Chapter III-B of the Rajasthan Tenancy Act (Act No. 3 of 1955) (hereinafter referred to as the Act of 1955) were commenced for determining the ceiling area for Raghubir Singh. The Sub-Divisional Officer, Hanumangarh. by his order dated l0th August., 1972, determined the ceiling area, but on appeal by Raghubir Singh, the Revenue Appellate Authority, set aside the order of the Sub-Divisional Officer on March 6, 1973 and remanded the case. The matter was taken to the Board of Revenue for Rajasthan by a revision application and the Board by its order dated 14th April. 1975 directed that the ceiling area for Raghubir Singh may be determined according to the old law i.e. Act of 1955 and not according to the new law i.e. Rajasthan Imposition of Ceiling on Agricultural Holding Act, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as the Act of 1973).

3. In pursuance of the directions of the Board, the Sub-Divisional Officer. Hanumangarh, by his order dated 5th May, 1976 .held that Surendrapal Singh, (appellant herein) aged 12 years, was a minor son of Raghubir Singh and used to study in Punjab and further held that the land in possession of Raghubir Singh was ancestral, The Sub-Divisional Officer, then came to the conclusion that the father and the son constitute two separate units and each one of them was entitled to get 62 Bighas and 8 Biswas. It was thus held that Raghubir Singh and his son Surendrapal Singh are entitled to retain 124 Bighas and 16 Biswas only and the surplus land measuring 4 Bighas and 6 Biswas may be resumed.

4. Aggrieved by the order of the Sub-Divisional Officer, Raghubir Singh filed appeal before the Revenue Appellate Authority, Bikaner, who by his order dated 6th September, 1976 dismissed the same and upheld the order of the Sub-Divisional Officer. Dissatisfied with the order of the Revenue Appellate Authority, Raghubir Singh filed a revision application under S. 230 of the Act of 1955 before the Board of Revenue for Rajasthan.

5. On behalf of Rabhubir Singh it was urged before the Board that the petitioner was in possession of 112 Bighas only and not 129 Bighas and 3 Biswas as held by the lower Courts. He sought permission to adduce additional evidence in support of his contention. The application for adducing additional evidence was disallowed. However. the Member of the Board came to the conclusion that Surendrapal Singh (appellant herein) was born to Rabhubir Singh on 14th March. 1963 and was only 13 years of age when the ceiling proceedings were finalised by the Sub-Divisional Officer on 5th May, 1976. He further held that the provisions of the old ceiling law applied to the case but the Sub-Divisional officer- had committed an error of law in determining the ceiling area under the new law i.e. the Act of 1973. The Board went on to hold that there is no provision for separate units in Chapter III-B of the Act of 1955. In the ultimate analysis the Member of the Board found that there was a gross and patent illegality in the order of the Sub-Divisional Officer and, consequently, set aside the order of the Sub-Divisional Officer dated 5th May, 1976 as