Mr. G.S. Sandhawalia, J.: - This order shall dispose of Civil Writ Petitions No.5407, 7233 and 10660 of 1998 as common questions of facts and law are involved in these petitions. However, for the sake of convenience, reference is being made to the pleadings in Civil Writ Petition No.7233 of 1998-Iqbal Singh Vs. The Joint Development Commissioner (I.R.D.) and others.

2. The petitioner-Iqbal Singh now represented through his legal representatives are aggrieved against order dated 12.8.1997 (Annexure P-6) wherein his petition under Section 11 of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as the 1961 Act”) for declaration as owner of the land measuring 42 Kanals 13 Marlas detail of which was mentioned in the heading of the petition was dismissed by the Collector, Kapurthala. The said order was upheld in appeal on 16.4.1998 (Annexure P-8) by the Appellate Authority.

3. In the connected writ petition No.5407 of 1998 filed by Iqbal Singh, challenge is to the ejectment application allowed under Section 7 of the 1961 Act on 1.9.1997(Annexure P-4) on the ground of being unauthorised occupant and assessment of Rs. 1,21,000/- being 20 times of the lease money at the rate of Rs. 6050/- since 5.6.1986 and further compensation at the rate of Rs. 3,63,000/- for illegal cultivation of the land for the last 3 years. The appellate order was passed on 16.4.1998 wherein by a composite order of even date, the appeal was dismissed under Section 11 of the 1961 Act as noticed above, however, the amount of compensation was reduced to half.

4. In Civil Writ Petition No.10660 of 1998, the Gram Panchayat, Talwara is aggrieved against the order dated 28.1.1997 (Annexure P-3) whereby the Director, Consolidation of Holdings, Punjab held that the mutation in favour of the Gram Panchayat regarding the land in dispute was wrong and directed that the partition be effected by the Consolidation Officer and protected the possession of the persons in possession.

5. The case has a chequered history of litigation since Iqbal Singh firstly filed a petition under Section 11 of the 1961 Act for claiming title which was accepted by the Collector on 27.2.1989. However, the said order was set aside on appeal filed by the Gram Panchayat on 9.6.1992 and the matter was remanded back to the Collector. Iqbal Singh also filed Civil Suit No.75 on 18.2.1995 for permanent injunction on account of order passed under Section 150 of the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887 (hereinafter referred to as “the Revenue Act”) by the Deputy Commissioner. However, he was dispossessed on 30.3.1995 during the pendency of the civil suit. The said civil suit was decreed in his favour on 5.2.1996. In view of the fact that the possession had been taken during the pendency of the civil suit for permanent injunction, the possession was also restored. The Gram Panchayat was not successful in getting the decree set aside in appeal. In the meantime, Iqbal Singh had also filed a petition under Section 42 of the East Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation) Act, 1948 (hereinafter referred to as “the Consolidation Act”) against the Gram Panchayat and others on the ground that there were Muslims and Hindus proprietors and the land was joint and after the migration of Muslims to Pakistan, the land remained in possession of Hindu proprietors. An exparte order was passed on 28.1.1997 by the Director, Consolidation of Holdings, Punjab, who directed the Consolidation Officer to partition the land by separating the shares and protected the possession of the persons in possession and declared mutation No.797 in favour of the Gram Panchayat having no effect on the right holders. The operative part of the order reads as under:-

“I have considered the arguments of the counsel for the petitioners and examined the record. I find that there is a force in the arguments of the counsel for the petitioners. As per Jamabandi, for the year 2008-2009 BK, the land is de