Mehar Singh, J.

1. The two appellants Rajindar Prashad and Khub Chand, are owners of 795 acres of agricultural land, the whole of it under tenants, in village Odian, Tehsil Fazilka of Ferozepur District. On April 15, 1953, the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953 (Punjab Act 10 of 1953), hereinafter to be referred as the Act, came into force. It gave protection to tenants against ejectment except on grounds specified in Section 9. Clause (i) of Sub-section (1) of section 9 reads--

"Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, no land-owner shall be competent to eject a tenant except when such tenant is a tenant on the area reserved under this Act or is a tenant of a small land-owner."

In section 2(3) the expression permissible area has been defined. The definition reads--

" Permissible area in relation to a landowner or a tenant, means thirty standard acres and where such thirty standard acres on being converted into ordinary acres exceed sixty acres, such sixty acres."

The appellants owned more than the permissible area. Sub-section (1) of section 5 says that

any land-owner who owns land in excess of the permissible area, may reserve out of the entire land held by him in the State of Punjab as landowner, any parcel or parcels not exceeding the permissible area by intimating his selection in the prescribed form and manner to the Patwari of the estate in which the land reserved is situate or to such authority as may be prescribed .. .. .. .. ,

and there is a proviso to this sub-section of which only Clause (b) is material, which reads

"Provided that in making this reservation he shall include his areas owned in the following order:-

- * * *(b) area under self-cultivation at the commencement of this Act other than the reserved area."

So a land-owner making reservation under Sub-section (1) of Section 5 has to include in it area under his self-cultivation at the commencement of the Act, that is to say, area under self-cultivation on April 15, 1953. Subsection (3) of section 5 provides that intimation of reservation was to be given within six months from April 15, 1953. On October 15, 1953, on a prescribed form, Exhibit P. 1, the two appellants made reservation, under section 5(1), of 79 acres, 6 Kanals, and 6 Marlas, equivalent of 58 standard acres, out of the total land under their ownership. They had the right to reserve 60 standard acres, but their reservation was of 58 standard acres, thus being 2 standard acres short of the statutory area that they had a right to reserve. Respondents 6 to 39 are tenants on that reserved area under the appellants. They thus became liable to ejectment under section 9(1) (i) of the Act.

2. On September 28, 1956, the appellants filed 34 applications against respondents 6 to 39 under section 14-A of the Act, on the basis of the ground of ejectment in section 9(1) (i), for their ejectment from 58 standard acres area reserved by them under section 5(1) of the Act. The applications were of course resisted by respondents 6 to 39. It appears that all the applications were consolidated and evidence was recorded in one application, applicable to the decision of all.

3. The only evidence that was recorded was of two witnesses, Om Parkash, Patwari of the Patwari Circle in which village Odian is situate, and Ram Rakha Mal, Mukhtar-i-am of the appellants. The tenants-respondents, in cross-examination, put the entries in the Khasra Girdawari, Exhibit D. 1, from Kharif 1951-Rabi 1952 to Kharif 1954-Rabi 1955 to the Patwari with regard to four fields Nos. 958, 1757, 1778, and 1780. The whole argument before the revenue authorities, the Financial Commissioner, the Commissioner, the Collector, and the Assistant Collector, respondents 2 to 5, has centred round those field numbers and the entries in the Khasra Girdawari in regard to the same and the statement of the Patwari based on those entries in that respect. There were other matters which came in the evidence o