( 1 ) THIS writ petition challenges an order dated 13. 8. 1992 passed by the financial Commissioner as well as an order dated 5. 6. 1992 passed by the additional Collector, Delhi allowing the appeal filed by the respondent No. 3 jaipal Singh under Section 185 of the Delhi Land Reforms Act, 1954 (DLRA) and setting aside an order dated 16. 8. 1989 passed by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM)/revenue Assistant (RA ). The finding returned by the Additional Collector, as affirmed by the Financial Commissioner, was that the respondent No. 3 was in physical and cultivatory possession of land bearing kila No. 16/22, 23, 24, 21/22, 4 and 5/19/2 in village Jhatikara, Delhi ('the land in question') and was in possession thereof even prior to its sale in favour of the petitioners herein and that respondent No. 3 was therefore entitled to the grant of bhumidari rights in respect the land in question. Background facts

( 2 ) THE facts leading to the filing of this writ petition are that smt. Kalawati wife of Shri Khacheru was the owner of 372 bighas of agricultural land in village Jhatikara. She had two daughters " Smt. Parmeshwari and Smt. Ramanand. Smt. Parmeshwari had two sons " Shri Dharam Pal and Shri Jaipal. In the year 1940, Smt. Kalawati gifted a half share in the land held by her in favour of Dharampal. With the enactment of DLRA on 20. 7. 1954 Smt. Kalawati and dharampal became joint bhumidars of the land in equal shares.

( 3 ) IN 1958 Smt. Kalawati made a gift through a registered deed in respect of her remaining half share in the joint holding in favour her grandson Shri satya Dev who was at that time the minor son of her other daughter Smt. Ramanand. This gift deed was executed on 24. 12. 1958. In the consolidation proceedings that took place in 1970-71 in village Jhatikara, the land in question was allotted to Shri Satya Dev and he was also put in possession thereof in the repartition proceedings under Section 21 of the East Punjab holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation) Act, 1948 ("holdings act" ). With the death of Shri Satya Dev in 1974, the land in question was mutated in favour of his parents Shri Haranand and Smt. Ramanand.

( 4 ) IT appears that on 4. 1. 1975 a rojnamcha report was prepared by the then RA shri Y. D. Venkata in which he noted that Shri Haranand and Smt. Ramanandi were bhumidars of the land in question but that Shri Jai Pal was cultivating it.

( 5 ) ON 27. 8. 1979, Shri Haranand and Smt. Ramanandi executed an agreement in favour of the four petitioners whereby the land in question was agreed to be sold to the petitioners for a sum of Rs. 33,760/ -. A sum of Rs. 7,000/- was recorded to have been received by the vendors as earnest money and the balance was to be paid at the time of registration of the sale deed. This was followed by the registration of the sale deed on 11/18. 9. 1979 whereby the land in question was sold to the petitioners. Simultaneously, the mutation was carried out on 18. 9. 1979 in respect of the land in question as is evident from the copy of the report of the Patwari which has been enclosed with the writ petition.

( 6 ) ON the same date. e. 18. 9. 1979 Smt. Kalawati made a complaint to the station House Officer, P. S. Najafgarh stating that she was a bhumidar in respect of the land in question and in cultivatory possession through Shri Jai Pal along with his brother Shri Dharam Pal both of whom were the sons of Smt. Parmeshwari, her daughter. In the complaint she claimed that the gift deed was got executed in 1985 in respect of the land in question in favour of Shri Satya Dev when she (Smt. Kalawati) was suffering some mental disorder but that she remained in possession of the land in question throughout.

( 7 ) MEANWHILE, pursuant to the mutation carried out on 18. 9. 1979, further proceedings took place. The procedure in terms of Sections 22 and 23 DLRA read with Rules 144 and 145 of the Delhi Land Revenue Rules, 1954 (DLRR) was followed. The s