IMPORTANT POINT
A person being a Scheduled Caste belonging to State of Punjab and being an ordinarily and permanent resident of State of Punjab cannot claim benefit of a Scheduled Caste in State of Rajasthan for the purpose of purchase of land belonging to a Scheduled Caste person of State of Rajasthan, which was given to original allottee as Scheduled Caste landless person.

JUDGMENT :

M.R. SHAH, J.

1. Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned judgment and order dated 07.04.2011 passed by the Division Bench of High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan at Jodhpur in Civil Special Appeal No. 1398/1999 by which the Division Bench of High Court has allowed the said Appeal preferred by the respondent herein-original plaintiff, the appellant herein original defendant-purchaser of the suit land in question has preferred the present Appeal.

2. The facts leading to the present Appeal in nutshell are as under:

2.1 The dispute is with respect to the land situated at village Dharamsinghwala, Tehsil Sadulshahar, District Sri. Ganganagar, Rajasthan. The said land was allotted to one Chunilal as Scheduled Caste landless person and father of the respondent herein-original plaintiff. As per the case of the respondent-original plaintiff, in the year 1972, the said Chunilal borrowed a sum of Rs. 5,000/- from one Puran Singh and under the guise of documentation, the said Puran Singh belonging to Jat High Caste fraudulently made Chunilal sign the sale-deed in favour of the appellant herein-original defendant-Bhadar Ram, who was a resident of Punjab.

2.2 The said Chunilal filed a suit for ejectment against Puran Singh and Bhadar Ram on the ground that he was the allottee of the land and the sale-deed dated 21.06.1972 is void and ineffective and the same is in violation of Section 42 of the Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955 and Section 13 of the Rajasthan Colonization Act, 1954. The said suit came to be decreed by the learned trial Court vide judgment and decree dated 13.10.1980 holding that the land was in possession of Puran Singh who was not a Scheduled Caste person and that the sale-deed is in violation of Section 13 of the Rajasthan Colonization Act, 1954 as well as in breach of Section 42 of the Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955 and therefore, the said Puran Singh is liable to be evicted. As per the case of the respondent original plaintiff, the possession of the land was handed over to him in pursuance of the decree passed by the learned trial Court. The possession was found to be with Puran Singh and not with Bhadar Ram. Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the judgment and order/decree passed by the learned trial Court, the appellant-original defendant filed Appeal before the Revenue Appellate Tribunal. The Revenue Appellate Tribunal dismissed the said Appeal. The appellant-original defendant filed the Appeal before the Board of Revenue, which came to be allowed vide order dated 25.04.1989 by giving benefit of compounding to the appellant-original defendant on payment of compounding fees under Section 13 of the Rajasthan Colonization Act, 1954.

2.3 Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the order passed by the Board of Revenue, the respondent-original plaintiff filed a Writ Petition before the learned Single Judge of the High Court. The learned Single Judge of the High Court dismissed the said Writ Petition vide judgment and order dated 15.09.1999. The respondent-original plaintiff thereafter preferred Appeal before the Division Bench and by the impugned judgment and order the Division Bench of the High Court has allowed the said Appeal and has set aside the judgment and order passed by the learned Single Judge holding that the appellant herein-original defendant, being the resident and Scheduled Caste belonging to the State of Punjab, he could not have taken the benefit of his being Scheduled Caste in the State of Rajasthan. While holding so, the Division Bench of High Court relied upon the decision of this Court in the case of Action Committee on Issue of Caste Certificate to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the State of Maharashtra and Another vs. Union of India and Another, (1994) 5 SCC 244.

2.4 Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned judgment and order passed by the Division Bench of the High Court, the appellant original defendant-purchaser of the land in question has preferred the present A