The principle of res judicata does not apply to summary proceedings unless the Statute expressly applies to such orders.

V.K.Jhanji, J.

1. This shall dispose of Civil Writ Petitions No. 6874, 6873 and 3052 of 1997 as common question of law and facts is involved therein.

2. In all the writ petitions, challenge is to order dated 30.11.1994 passed by the Commissioner, Ferozepur Division, Ferozepur, whereby appeals filed by private respondents against the orders of eviction passed under the Punjab Public Premises and Land (Eviction and Rent Recovery) Act, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as 1973 Act) on applications filed by the Panchayat, were accepted and in consequence thereof eviction orders passed against the private respondents were set aside.

3. It is the case of the petitioners that Gram Panchayat being owner of the land in dispute filed an application for ejectment of private respondents under the 1973 Act. The said application was rejected by the Collector vide order dated 6.6.1985 on the ground that the land in dispute is not a Shamlat Deh as defined in Section 2-G of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as 1961 Act) and therefore, is not a public premises. Gram Panchayat, on 25.7.1989, filed another application Under Section 4, 5 and 7 of the 1973 Act against the private respondents but the Collector dismissed that application on 6.6.1989 only on the ground that subsequent application by Gram Panchayat on the same subject matter is not competent. It was held that general principles of res-judicata are applicable. Order dated 6.6.1989 was challenged in appeal before the Commissioner, Ferozepur Division, Ferozepur who vide order dated 21.5.1991 accepted the appeal and consequently, remanded the case to the Collector for deciding the applications afresh in accordance with law. Collector vide order dated 30.4.1993 on careful perusal of the record, allowed the applications filed by the Gram Panchayat for eviction of private respondents. Private respondents challenged the order of the Collector in appeal and the learned Commissioner vide order dated 30.11.1994 allowed the appeals on the ground that in view of decision given in the previous applications, proceedings against the private respondents under the 1973 Act were not maintainable. Hence, the present writ petitions calling in question order dated 30.11.1994.

4. It has been contended by learned counsel for petitioners that proceedings under the 1973 Act arc summary in nature and so, principle of res-judicata has no application to the proceedings under the Act. Against this, counsel for the respondents on the strength of judgments in Laxmi Ginning and Oil Mills v. The Com missioner of Income-Tax, (1971)73 P.L.R. 363, Jee Ram v. The State of Haryana and Ors., 1980 P.LJ. 103 and Bant Singh v. The Joint Director Panchayats etc, 1984 P.L.J. 581, has contended that second application by the Gram Panchayat was barred by principle of res-judicata and so, Commissioner was right in setting aside the eviction order passed against the private respondents.

5. After hearing the counsel for the parties and going through the record, we are of the view that order dated 30.11.1994 under challenge in all the three writ petitions is not sustainable in law. The judgments cited by the counsel for the petitioners relate to the proceedings taken under the 1961 Act. Section 7 of the 1961 Act empowers the collector to put the Panchayat in possession in shamlat deh and Section 11 confers jurisdiction on the Collector to decide the claim regarding right, title or interest in any land deemed to have been vested in the Panchayat. Section 13 of the 1961 Act bars the jurisdiction of the Civil Court as it provides that no Civil Court shall have jurisdiction to entertain or adjudicate any question, whether any property or any right to or interest in any property is or is not shamlat deh vested or deemed to have been vested in a Panchayat under the Act, or in respect of any matter which the Commissioner or the Collector is empowered by or under the Act to determine. Section 2