The legal principle that a non occupant tenant cannot acquire the status and right of Marusi and claim ownership.

KULDEEP TIWARI, J.

1. Respondent No. 4-Gram Panchayat, Village Saidowal Kalan, Tehsil and District Gurdaspur, preferred an application, under Section 7 of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961 (hereinafter to be referred as the “Act of 1961”), thereby seeking ejectment of the present petitioners/respondents therein, from the land measuring 1 kanal 12 marlas, primarily on the ground, that the land vests in the Gram Panchayat, as in the relevant revenue record, the Gram Panchayat is recorded as the owner thereof. The present petitioners were alleged therein to have illegally encroached upon the petition land years ago. Prior to such encroachment being made, respondent No.4-Gram Panchayat used to auction the land and the lease amount derived therefrom was utilized for the welfare activities of the village concerned. The application (supra) as moved by the respondent No. 4-Gram Panchayat, was allowed by the court of the learned Collector concerned, vide impugned order dated 26.4.2022 (Annexure P/1). Aggrieved by the eviction order (Annexure P/1), the present petitioners made a challenge thereto by preferring a statutory appeal before the statutory appellate authority concerned. However, the petitioners remained unsuccessful, as the appeal was dismissed vide order dated 31.5.2023 (Annexure P/4). Therefore, now, the petitioners have knocked the doors of this Court, seeking quashing of the impugned orders (supra), on the ground that the orders passed by the Authorities concerned are based on surmises and conjectures as the respondent No. 4-Gram Panchayat has not produced any evidence before the Authorities concerned, to establish the factum of vestment of the petition land in it. Moreover, the necessary ingredients for invoking the provisions of Section 7 of the Act of 1961 have also not been proved by the Gram Panchayat concerned, therefore, the eviction application ought to have been dismissed straightway, being not maintainable. However, the Authorities concerned, in a very slipshod manner, through the orders (supra) ordered the eviction of the petitioners from the petition land.

2. Learned counsel for the petitioners has vehemently argued that the authorities concerned did not take into consideration either the Khatoni Pamiash, wherein one Pishora Singh has been recorded in possession over the suit land since the year 1956, or the factum qua the dismissal of the stay application as filed in the civil suit by the successor of said Pishora Singh, vide order dated 19.4.2001, or, the factum qua allowing the correction of Khasra Girdawari in favour of petitioners' father, vide order dated 19.6.2000.

3. We have considered the submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioners and perused the records.

4. However, we do not find any merit to accept the contentions as raised by the learned counsel for the petitioners. It remains undisputed by the learned counsel for the petitioners that in the relevant revenue record, the Gram Panchayat concerned is recorded as the owner of the petition land. Moreover, there is no record whatsoever available before this Court which could either establish that the possession of the petitioners dates back even prior to the year 1950, or that they are proprietors of the village concerned, possessing any share in the Shamilat land. Further, a perusal of the order as passed by the learned Collector concerned, shows that a specific query was put to the petitioners with regard to their possession and ownership, which was denied by the petitioners themselves before the Court of the learned Collector concerned. For ready reference, the same reads as under:-

“Court asks the following questions to the respondent:-

1. Whether you have any document to show your possession over the suit land since 1950 ?

Answer: No

2. Whether you are coming as owner in the column of ownership as per the Jamabandi ?

Answer : No”

5. Learned counsel for the petitioners is unable to deny the above observation of the learned