( 1 ) THIS appeal is preferred by the defendant-State of Gujarat against the judgment and order dated 27th August, 1981, passed by the learned District Judge, Mehsana, in Regular Civil Appeal No. 180 of 1979, arising of the judgment and order dated 3rd October, 1979, passed by the learned Civil Judge (S. D.) Mehsana, in Regular Civil Suit No. 121 of 1974.

( 2 ) ). The plaintiff is Kolvada Gram Panchayat. It appears that several persons had made applications to the Collector, Mehsana, for allotment of land in village kolvada for construction of residential house. However, no open land was available in the village site. The Collector, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred under sub-sec. (4) of Sec. 96 of the Gujarat Panchayats Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as the Act), made an order on 29th January, 1974 (Ex. 44), directing that the land bearing S. No. 878/3, admeasuring 5-Acre-35 gunthas, and the land bearing S. No. 878/2, admeasuring 4-Acre-28 Gunthas, situated in the Sim of village Kolvada, be resumed for the purposes of house site. Feeling aggrieved, the Gram Panchayat instituted the above-referred Regular civil Suit No. 121 of 1974 in the Court of t