JUDGMENT :

HEMANT GUPTA, J.

CIVIL APPEAL NO. 6990 OF 2014; CIVIL APPEAL NOS. 6610- 6612 OF 2016; CIVIL APPEAL NO. 6992 OF 2014; CIVIL APPEAL NO. 6991 OF 2014; CIVIL APPEAL NO. 6997 OF 2014; CIVIL APPEAL NO. 7001 OF 2014; CIVIL APPEAL NO. 4435 OF 2015; CIVIL APPEAL NO. 1675 OF 2022 AND CIVIL APPEAL NO. 1677 OF 2022

1. The subject matter of challenge in the present appeals is the amendments in the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961¹[For short, the ‘1961 Act’], as inserted by Haryana Act No. 9/1992²[Amending Act], published on 11.2.1992 after the assent of the President of India.

2. The amendments carried out by the Amending Act came up for consideration before the Full Bench of Punjab and Haryana High Court in a judgment reported as Jai Singh & Ors. v. State of Haryana, AIR 1995 P&H 243 (Jai Singh I) . The High Court struck down the amendments introduced and held as under:

“In view of the observations cited above, Sections 2(g) (4) and 2(g)(6) of the Act of 1961 describes the land reserved for common purposes under Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1948 by application or pro rata cut to the holdings of the land owners within their ceiling limits as Shamlat Deh under the Act of 1961 and since these lands have been vested in the Panchayat the action is in violation of Article 31-A. Since definitions by Section 2(g)(4) and 2(g)(6) are so intermingled that no part can be segregated and held ultravires and these sections having categorically transgressed the powers of the State for acquisition of land without compensation, these provisions can not stand the test of constitutionality. It is immaterial that the transgression is open, direct or overt, disguised covert and indirect. It is a piece of colourable legislation. Violation of Article 31-A is so manifest that it leaves no manner of doubt. I am of the considered view that Sections 2(g)(4) and 2(g)(6) are void being violative of Article 31-A of the Constitution of India. Writ of mandamus is, therefore, issued restraining the State of Haryana from enforcing the provisions of Sections 2(g)(4) and 2(g)(6) of the Act of 1992.”

3. Civil Appeal No. 5480 of 1995 titled as State of Haryana v. Jai Singh before this Court against the said judgment was accepted on 6.8.1998 and the following order was passed:

"We have made a through search in the judgment under appeal in order to discover whether any finding was recorded by the High Court that the land sought to be affected by the legislative measure under challenge was within the celling limit of each of the respective proprietors and was in each's personal cultivation, be it factually or legally. That there is no such finding is conceded to by the learned counsel for the parties. Unless such finding was recorded, in clear terms, the legislative measure could not have been struck down on the anvil of Article 31A of the Constitution. In this view of the matter, we would rather have a complete decision from the High Court on the subject and, therefore, necessarily, have to effect a remand to it; other questions not being adverted to and leaving those questions to the High Court to be re-affirmed or otherwise".

As a result, we allow this appeal, set aside the impugned judgment of the High Court and remit the matter back to it for re-decision of the question fo-cussed as also others as indicated above".

4. It is thereafter, the Full Bench of Punjab and Haryana High Court in Jai Singh and Ors. v. State of Haryana, 2003 SCC Online P&H 409 (For short, ‘Jai Singh