The court affirmed that statutory rights for alternate land allotment must be honored when earlier allotments are cancelled, ensuring due process is followed.

JUDGMENT :

HARSH BUNGER, J.

1. This order shall dispose of three petitions bearing CWP No.2949 of 1993, CWP-2954 of 1993 and CRM-42845-M-2004 as they all involve common facts and issues.

2. Prayer in CWP-2949-1993 is for issuance of a writ in the nature of Certiorari for setting aside orders dated 28.06.1990 (Annexure P-5) and 09.04.1991 (Annexure P-6) and also the allotment of 2 kanals 8 marlas of land in favour of respondent No.2 (Motu Ram) and auction of 2 kanals 3 marlas in favour of respondent No.3 (Banarsi Dass).

2.1 A further prayer has been made for directing respondent No.1- State of Punjab to restore the allotment of 4 kanals 11 marlas area to the petitioner(s), which was cancelled on 05.01.1965.

3. In CWP-2949-1993, the petitioner(s) claim that their father namely Sh. Inder Singh (since deceased) was allotted 40 standard acres-3 ¾ units of land in the revenue estate of Samana, District Patiala on 03.08.1951 in lieu of land left by him in Pakistan.

3.1 Out of the aforesaid allotted land in favour of Sh. Inder Singh, an area measuring 4 kanals 11 marlas comprised in khasra No.185/25, 184/21 and 209/1/1 was cancelled on 05.01.1965 (Annexure P-1) by the then Managing Officer, Rehabilitation Department, Jalandhar on the ground that the area in question was urban at the time of allotment and therefore the same could not be allotted in lieu of the rural area left in Pakistan.

4. Petition (CWP-2954-1993), has been filed under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India inter alia seeking issuance of a writ in the nature of Certiorari for setting aside orders dated 28.06.1990 (Annexure P-4) and 09.04.1991 (Annexure P-5) and also allotment of 17 kanals 1 marla in favour of respondent No.2 (Motu Ram) with a further direction to respondent No.1- State of Punjab to restore the allotment of 17 kanals 1 marla area to the petitioner(s), which was cancelled on 05.01.1965.

5. In CWP-2954-1993, the petitioner- Balwant Singh claimed that his father namely Sunder Dass (since deceased) was allotted land in Samana, District Patiala in the year 1950 in lieu of the land left by him in Pakistan, however vide order dated 05.01.1965 (Annexure P-1), land measuring 17 kanals 1 marla comprised in khasra No.141//24 (6-10), 164//3/2 (4-1), 4 (5- 11), 8/1 (1-0) was cancelled by the then Managing Officer, Jalandhar on the ground that the aforesaid area in question was urban at the time of allotment, hence the same could not have been allotted in lieu of the area left in Pakistan.

6. For the purpose of passing this order, the facts primarily are being taken from CWP-2949-1993.

7. At the outset, it is apposite to note here that vide aforesaid order(s) dated 05.01.1965 (Annexure P-1) it was observed that alternate allotment in lieu of the cancelled area may be made in accordance with the rules and instructions of the department.

8. The petitioner(s) are stated to have submitted their respective claims for purchase of the ‘cancelled area’ in accordance with the Government instructions contained in Circular No.R-1-40733 dated 27.04.1960 by paying the difference of price between the urban and the rural land.

9. It appears that while the aforesaid claim of the petitioner(s) was pending, the then Tehsildar (Sales)-cum-Managing Officer, Patiala allotted 2 kanals 8 marlas area out of the cancelled area comprised in khasra No.184//21 (1-19) and 209//1 (0-9) to Sh. Motu Ram, etc. in the year 1977. Similarly, an area measuring 2 kanals 3 marlas comprised in khasr