1. Rendering its opinion on a reference made to it by a Single Bench of the Jammu and Kashmir Special Tribunal, a Full Bench of the Tribunal, had, taken the view, that land measuring 83 kanals situated in Village Hakkal Tehsil Jammu leased out by Dharam Singh to Hans Raj for purposes of a Dairy Farm, was outside the scope of the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976. It had accordingly vide its order of January 2, 2008, referred the case back to Bench No. II for deciding the Revision, out of which the reference had arisen, on its merits.

2. Opinion rendered by Full Bench vide its order of January 2, 2008 has been questioned by the petitioners, the predecessors-in-interest of Hans Raj, in this writ petition.

3. Respondent No.1s counsel Mr. R.S. Thakur questions the maintainability of petitioners writ petition saying that the Jammu and Kashmir Special Tribunal had yet to decide the case sent to it, on remand, by Honble Supreme Court of India, on merits, and in that view of the matter, ExtraOrdinary Civil Writ Jurisdiction of this Court cannot be invoked by the petitioners to question the opinion of the Full Bench.

4. Before dealing with the objection, few facts need to be noticed.

Subedar Dharam Singh had leased out land measuring 83 kanals comprised in Khasra nos. 544/47, 48, 91/681/53 and 654/53 situated in village Hakkal Tehsil Jammu to Hans Raj, the predecessor-in-interest of the petitioners, in the year 1964 for a period of 20 years.

5. Tehsildar (Agrarian Reforms), Jammu had attested Mutation no. 504 of Village Hakkal Tehsil Jammu vesting the land in question in favour of the State with Hans Raj as its prospective owner, under the Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976. Dharam Singhs appeal against the mutation having failed before Commissioner, Agrarian Reforms, the Appellate Authority, had led him to approach the Jammu and Kashmir Special Tribunal, which while allowing his revision petition, had set aside mutation no. 504 holding that the land was not covered by the provisions of Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976. Writ Petition no. 690/1986, filed by Hans Raj against Tribunals order had failed. He, thereafter, approached Honble Supreme Court of India by Civil Appeal No. 4130 of 1989.

6. While allowing Hans Rajs appeal, the Supreme Court of India had remanded the case to the Tribunal requiring it to give a detailed judgment determining as to extent of the area actually put to cultivation or agricultural use and what had remained to be put to non-agricultural use towards working out the lease. Tribunal had been desired by Honble Supreme Court of India to keep in mind that lease having commenced in the year 1964 and durated for 25 years, its period had expired and its effect had to be seen for fresh computation of the excess lands.

7. After the remand of the case, the matter appears to have been listed before a Single Bench of the Tribunal, which came to the conclusion that as an important question of law and public interest had arisen so the matter would require consideration by a Full Bench. The question which according to the Single Bench of the Tribunal had arisen for consideration of the Full Bench, reads thus: -

"Whether the land set apart on lease for dairy farming is outside the scope of the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976 on the sole premises that dairy farming is not agriculture."

8. The Single Bench of the Tribunal accordingly recorded the following order while referring the matter to Full Bench:

"In view of the important question of law and of public interest the matter is required to be considered by the Full Bench. Therefore, the file be placed before the Honble Chairman for orders for constituting Full Bench so that the direction of the Honble Apex Court is complied with most expeditiously."

9. Considering the formulated question, the Full Bench of the Tribunal had taken the view that land measuring 83 kanals situated in village Hakkal Tehsil Jammu which had been let in favour of Hans Raj for purposes

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