IMPORTANT POINT
Provisions of Section 10 of the Tenancy Act put a complete embargo on a hisedar/joint-owner to claim occupancy rights.

JUDGMENT

Dr. B. S. Chauhan, J.-These appeals have been preferred against the judgments and orders dated 18.9.2002, passed by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh in Civil Writ Petition Nos.13985 to 13990 of 2001, by way of which, the High Court has dismissed the said writ petitions, concurring with the judgment and order of the Financial Commissioner dated 29.11.2000, by which while allowing the Revision Petition filed by the respondent-Gram Panchayat, claims of the appellants for occupancy rights in the land in dispute were rejected.

2. The facts and circumstances giving rise to these appeals are as follows:

(A) The appellants/their predecessors-in-interest had been in cultivatory possession of the land in dispute, measuring 78 kanal 5 marlas situated in the village of Jhupa Khurd, Tehsil Loharu Distt. Bhiwani, prior to 1935-36. Until the year 1954, the said land was recorded as Shamilat deh in the revenue records. In the cultivation column, the appellants/their predecessors-in-interest were shown as co- sharers. The appellants/their predecessors-in-interest, filed a suit on 4.7.1989 in the Court of the Assistant Collector, First Grade Loharu, District Bhiwani, Haryana for declaration of their occupancy rights, under Sections 5 and 8 of the Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887 (hereinafter referred to as, ‘the Tenancy Act’) in relation to the land in dispute. The suit was contested by the State, as well as by the Gram Panchayat and after the conclusion of the trial, the same stood as dismissed, vide judgment and order dated 28.8.1992.

(B) Aggrieved, the appellants/their predecessors-in-interest preferred an appeal before the District Collector, which was allowed vide order dated 28.6.1993, by way of which the appellate authority set aside the judgment and order of the Assistant Collector, and remanded back the case so that the same could be decided afresh.

© The Court of First Instance, i.e. the Assistant Collector, after remand, allowed the case vide judgment and order dated 18.11.1993, observing :

“Plaintiff has paid the rent to the Gram Panchayat from time to time and when the Panchayat refused to take the rent the same was deposited in the court, on courts’ order. Receipts of which are on the file. The plaintiff has been paying the nominal rent since before 12 years before the commencement of Punjab village common lands Act,1961and therefore there is relationship between the parties as land lord and tenant.”

It was further held that, as the appellants/plaintiffs fulfilled all the conditions of Sections 5 and 8 of the Tenancy Act, owing to the fact that they had been in uninterrupted possession of the land for a very long time and had also been cultivating the said land continuously, paying nominal rent to the Gram Panchayat, much before the commencement of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961, (hereinafter referred to as Act 1961), and hence, the provisions of Section 7 of the Act 1961 were not attracted and that they were, therefore, in fact entitled to the declaration as sought by them.

(D) Aggrieved, the Gram Panchayat-defendant, filed an appeal before the District Collector, Bhiwani, which was allowed vide judgment and order dated 26.2.1996, taking into consideration the fact that the Predecessors-in-interest of the appellants, were in possession of the land for a period of more than 60 years upon the payment of nominal rent of 34 paise, however, the disputed land was always shown as ‘shamilat deh’, and all revenue records showed the status of the appellants/their predecessors-in-interest as co-sharers, owing to which, they could not be termed as tenants. To create a relationship of tenancy, there must be an agreement between the parties, which was not in existence in the instant case. The possession of the appellants as regards the land in dispute, remained unauthorised and illegal and thus, they could not claim occupancy rights. In the event that the land was in illegal possession of any pers