Mehar Singh, J.

1. The question referred to the Full Bench is:

"Whether the scope of Clause (a) of Sec. 3 of the Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1953 (Punjab Act No. 1 of 1954), is limited to the rights, title and interests of properietors as such, or does it also extend to the rights, title and interests in the land included in the Shamilar deh of the village, acquired from the proprietors as such, prior to and subsisting on the appointed date,"

In Section 2 (e) of the Act "appointed date" is defined to mean in the case of a village which is subject to the jurisdiction of a Panchayat at the commencement of the Act, the date of such commencement; and in other cases, the date on which 9 Panchayat with jurisdiction over the village is constituted. This is a case from village Ghanyara, Taluqa Rehlu, Tehsil and District Kangra. A Panchayat has in fact been constituted in the village.

2. The proprietors or zamindars of the village on February 28, 1867, granted a perpetual lease in favour of one Mr. Shaw to work slate quarries and to excavate slates in certain area of land, now in dispute, which admittedly has throughout been shamilat deh and described as such in the reven