ORDER

1. Leave granted.

2. The State of Punjab is the appellant herein. The respondents are members of a family. The first respondent, Bachan Singh is the father, the second, third and fourth respondents are his sons and the fifth respondent is his wife. A sizeable agricultural holding measuring about 575 kanals, details of which are available in the judgments and orders of the courts below, was owned by Bachan Singh in an area covered under the Pepsu Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1955. Bachan Singh claimed that he had prior to the amendment of the Act on 21-8-1956 partitioned his properties in such manner so as to retain one-half thereof, surrendering the other half to his sons and wife in equal shares and that a mutation to that effect was recorded in the revenue papers. The Collector (Agrarian), vide order dated 28-2-1963 declared 25 standard acres and 5 1/2 standard units as surplus out of the whole land ignoring the partition effected. Challenging the said order by means of a suit, Bachan Singh and others claimed that the orders were void ab initio because those had been passed behind their back. The trial court decreed the suit of the sons and the wife of Bachan Singh,