Sadhu Singh (Deceased) & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors.

]ASWANT SINGH, J.-The litigation culminating in the present appeal· (by certificate under Article 133 (1 )(b) of the Constitution) which is directed against the judwent and order dated September 25, 1967, of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in C.W.N. 1630 of 1962 setting aside the allotment dated May 23, 1960 made by Naib Tehsil-dar-cum-Managing Officer, Fatehabad, District Hissar in favour of Madan Mohan and others, and orders dated April 18, 1962 and July 21, 1962 of the Assistant Settlement Commissioner and Chid Settlement Commissioner respectively on the finding that "no part of the holding which formed part of the land allotted to respondent No. 14, Mehta Lal Chand, (hereinafter referred to as 'the respon-dent') could, during the subsistence of such allotment and without its cancellation, be. allotted to any one else" has had a very chequer-ed career extending over well nigh two decades. It appears that the respo11dt:nt who is a displaced person from Pakistan was found en-titled to an allotment of 113 standard acres and 3 units of land in li~u of 120 acres of land held by him as owner in Bhawalpur (Pakis-tan). Against the aforesaid entitlement, the respondent was allot-ted 90 standard acres and 6 units of evacuee land between 1953 and 1958 in different villages of Tehsil Fatehabad, District Hissar includ-ing two areas measuring (1) 13 standard acres and 3± units and (2) 13 standard acres and 13± units in village Bahmniwala allotment of which was made on March 1, 1957 and October 10, 1958 respec-tively. Pursuant to the above allotment of 13 standard acres and 3t units made in his favour in village Bahmniwala vide Sanad dated March 6, 1957 (Annexure 'C' to the writ petition), the respondent was given possession of the plots of land comprised in khasra Nos. 1411 min, 1412 min, 1472 min, 1241 min, 1242, 1243, 1244, 1245, 1246, 1247, 1621, 1622 to 1635 (14 khasras), 1642, 1644, 1645 on June 17, 1957. The respondent continued to remain in posses-sion of the aforesaid plots of land till Rabi 1960 when consordation of holdings were undertaken in village Bahmniwala. Without car-ing to look into the revenue record, the Consolidation Officer instead of showing the aforesaid allotted area in Bahmniwala in the name

SADHU Sl1'GH v. UNION (Jasivant Singh, 1281 of the respondent included the same in the kurrah (area) of the Custodian. On coming to know about this irregularity, the respon-dent filed objections before the Consolidation Officer and requested him to rectify the mistake. The Consolidation Officer by his order dated March 23, 1960 consigned the objection petition of the res-pondent to the record room observing that in the absence of the relevant record which, as per the report of the Wasal Baqi Nawis has been despatched to J ullundur for checking purposes. the factum of allotment cannot be verified and as it is necessary to take pro-ceedings under section 21 (2) of the Consolidation of Holdings Act in village Bahmniwala in this very month, the record cannot be await-ed any further. The Consolidation Officer further observed that since it appeared from a perusal of the copy of the Sanad (allotment) that the entire kurrah consisted of almost evacuee land bearing khasra numbers meutioned in the Sanad of allotment, the respondent could, on the receipt of the record, get the area at the place where, according to him, the evacuee land mentioned by him in his applica-tion was situate. By his order dated May 23, 1960, the Naib Teh· sildar-cum-Managing Officer, Fatehabad, however, made the follow-ing allotments out of an area of 58 standard acres and 7 units situ-ate in Bahmniwala which included the khasra numbers already allot-ted to the respondent but which according to the Fard Fazla (state-ment of surplus area) prepared by the concerned Patwari appeared to be available for allotment : -

In favour ofB,gga Singh, S/o Pokhar Singh : 5! unit'

,, ,, Inder Singh, S/o Mil Singh : 7 Standard acres Jt unit ., ,, ,, Madan Mohlln Singh, S/o Pur.··n Singh, ,, ,, ,, 01in Singh :.nd H .rdum: n Singh 20 Standerd ?.cres 2 units Sons of Mad;:n Mohan Singh, Predecessor4in~interest of the appellants Aggrieved by this order of the Naib-Tehsildar-cum-Managino Officer which adversely affected the allotment already made in hi~ favour, the respondent preferred an appeal to the Assistant Settle-men~ Commissioner (with powers of Settleme~t Commissioner), Pun1a?, Jullund?r contending that 13 standard acres and 3! units of ~and m ~ahmm;"ala a~lotted to him in 1957 had been erroneously mc~uded m ~e kurrah of the Custodian at the time of the Consoli-dation_ operah?ns and that the same had now been erroneously allot. ted without his knowledge to Bagga Singh, Inder Singh, Madan Mohan Singh and his sons. Curiously enough, the Assistant Settle-ment Commissioner (with powers of Settlement Commissioner) while conceding that the aforesaid 13 standard acres and 3t units and 13 standard acres and 13t units in village Bahmniwala were al-lotted in favour of the respondent on June 17, 1957 and October 10, 1958 respectively and that there was no cancellation order in respect thereof and that the consolidation authorities should not have with-drawn the area from the name of the respondent who had through no fault of his been put to a lot of difficulty and that it was .inst and proper that the matter of allotment to which he was entitled be sett-led once for all in such a way that whole of the area is given to him penn,anently. in one village, rejected the appeal by his order dated April 18, 1962 observing that there was no good ground for inter-fering with the allotment of the appellants and that it would be open to the respondent to apply to the Naib Tehsildar-cum-Managing Officer to make up the shortfall in his area by allotment of some other land which may be available in that village. Dissatisfied with the order of the Assistant Settlement Commissioner, the respondent took the matter in revision to the Deputy Secretary (Rehabilitation) exercising the powers of the Chief S~_!tlement Commissioner who also after paying lip sympathy dismissed the revision on the ground that it was time barred. Aggrieved by these orders, the respondent moved the High Court of Punjab and Haryana by means of the afore-said petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution. The High Court by its judgment and order dated September 25, 1962 set 1sidd the aforesaid three impugned orders holding that they were wholly without jurisdiction and the Tehsildar-cum-Managing Officer was not authorised to allot to the appellants the land which was al-ready comprised in a subsisting valid allotment of the respondent. It is again?! this judgment and order of the High Court that the present appeal is directed.

On the appeal corning up before us on July 19, 1978, we l1ear<l counsel for the parties at considerable length and felt it necessary for clarification of certain points which had been left vague in the courts below to have before us the entire record relating to the allotment made in favour of the respondent. Accordingly, with the consent of counsel for the parties, we adjourned the hearing of the case and directed the Union of Indian to instruct the Chief settle-ment Commissioner, State of Haryana, either to appear himself be-fore us with all the relevant record relating not only to the allotment originally made in favour of the respondent vide Sanad No. HS4/ 1957 /11202 dated March 1, 1957 but also with the record pertain-ing to all the subsequent allotments m,ide in his favour upto date or cause the appearance of a responsible officer with the aforesaid re-cord. To obviate delay in disposal of the case, we also directed the Chief Settlement Com~issioner to' have in readiness a factnal statement showing the net area in terms of standard acres to which the respondent wa~ entitled as a displaced person, the particulars of the field initially allotted in his favour including the survey num-bers and the extent of the area thereof, particulars of the survey numbers of the fields taken out of the respondent's allotment vide Naib Tehsildar-cum-Managing Officer, Teh~il Fatehabad's order dated May 23, 1960 and particulars of all the subsequent allotments made upto date in the respondent's favour in different villages of District Hissar including village Bahmniwala as also the extent of the allotted area which is at present held by him. Accordingly, the Chief Settlement Commissioner has caused the attendance of K. L. Narula, Deputy District Attorney, Rehabilitation Department, Haryana, Chi!ndigarh who has also filed an affidavit relating to the points on which information was required by us. We have perused the entire material and have again heard counsel for all the sides.

Two questions arise for determination in this case--(!) whether the respondent acquired any enforceable right as a result of the allotment made in his favour on March 1, 1957 and delivery in pur-suance thereof to him of possession of rhe aforesaid khasra numbers on June 17, 1957 and (2) whether the parcels of land which already stood a!lott_ed in favour of the respondent vide allotment order dated March 1, 1957 could be allotted by the Naib Tehsildar-cum-Manag-ing Officer, Fatehabad in favour of Madan Mohan Singh and others without notice to the respondent and without affording him in oppor-tunity of being heard.

The first question has to be coniidered in the light of the judg· ment of thi~ Court in Amar Singh v. Custodian Ewtcuee Property, Punjab(') where the whole history of the legislative measures de-vised from time to time in the erstwhile State of Punjab to combat the gigantic problems created as a result of the mass migration of non-Muslim land holders to East Punjab' is traced. A perusal of the judgment reveals that in exercise of the rule making power vested in it under clau~es (f) and (ff) of sub-section (2) of section 22 of the East Punjab Evacuocs' (Administration of Property) Act, 1947 (E. P. Act No. XIV of 1947) as amended in 1948, the Punjab Gov-ernment issued Notification Nos. 4891-S and 4892-S on July 8, 1949 setting out the conditions regulating allotment by the Custodian of the land which vested in him. The first incident of allotment deduci-ble from the notification is hereditability of the rights of the allottee which constitute quasi-permanent allotn:!_ent. The statement of con-ditions published under Notification Nos. 489 J -S and 4892-S of July 8, 1949 was continued in force as the Administration of Evacuee Property (Rural) Rules framed by the Provincial Government under sub-section (2) of section 53 tJf the Central Ordinance No. XXVII of 1949 under delegation from the Central Government under Notifica-tion No. 3094-A/Cus/49 dated December 2, 1949 subject to certain modifications and amendments. On repeal of the Central Ordinance by Central Act XXXI of 1950, the aforesaid rules were continued by virtue of section 58 of the Act as though made under that Act. Later in exer-cise of the delegated rule making power vested in the Provincial Govern-ment under section 55 orf the Central Act, the Punjab Government framed rules dated August 29, 1951 entitled "Instructions for review and revision of land allotment" which affected the rules of July 8, 1949 only to the extent that they were inconsistent with the earlier rules. A reference to the earlier and subsequent rules would show that the later rules do not concern any of the matters provided by the earlier rules of 1949 (and 1950) excepting as regards resumption which virtually is cancellation of allot_ment. The position that emerges from the foregoing is that the rules of July, 1949 continued in force except to the extent of in-consistency. (The next set of rules are those made wider Central Act XXXI of 1950). Then came the rules dated August 29, 1951 made by the Punjab Government in exercise of the powers delegated to it by the Central Government under section 55 ( 1) of the Central Act XXXI of 1950. It will be seen that the rules of August 29, 1951 arc substantially the same as those enumerated in clause (6) of July 8, 1949 notification as regards resumption and only supplement the J notification of July 8, 1949 as regards eviction in certain contingcncie>. I The rights and incidents enjoyed by the a!lottces under the quasi-perma-nent scheme introduced by the aforesaid notification of July 8, 1949 are catalouged at page 823 o~ the aforesaid judgment of this Court iu Amar Sin~h v. Custodian, Evacuee Property, Punjab (supra). They are :

"l. The allottee is entitled to right of use and occupation of the property until such time as the property remains vested in the Custodian. [Oause 3 (1) .]

¶2The benefit of such right will ensure to his heirs and successors. (Definition of 'allottee').

ill

¶3His enjoyment of the property is on the basis of pay-ing land-revenue thereupon and ceases for the time being. Additional rent may be fixed thereupon by the Custodian. If and when he does so, the allottee is bound to pay the same. !Clause 3(3).]

\ 4. He is entitled to quiet and undisturbed enjoyment of the property during that period. (Clause 8). S

¶5He is entitled to make improvements on the land with the assent of the Custodian and is entitled to compensation in the manner provided in the Punjab Tenancy Act. (Clause 7).

¶6He is entiled to exchange the whole or any part of the land for other evacuee land with the consent of the Cus-todian. (Clause 5).

¶7He is entitled to lease the land for a period not ex-ceeding three years without the permission of the Cnstodian I> and for longer period with his consent. But he is not entitl-ed to transfer his rights by way of sale, gift, will, mortgage or other private contract. [Clause 4(c) .]

¶8His rights iu the allotment are subject to the fairly extensive powers of cancellation under the Act and rules as then in force prior to July 22, 1952, on varied administra-tive considerations and actions such as the followin.g (Clause 6 and subsequent rules of 1951) :-

(a) That the a!lotment is contrary to the orders of the

Punjab Government or the instructions of the Finan-cial Commissioner, Relief and Rehabilitation, or of the Custodian, Evacuee Property, Punjab;

(b) That the claims of other parties with respect to the

land have been established or accepted by the Custa-dian or the Rehabilitation Authority;

( c) That it is neoessary or expedient to cancel or vary the

t,erms of an allotmept for the implementation of re-settlement schemes and/ or rules framed by the State Government; or for such distribution amongst displac-ed persons as appears to the Custodian to be equi-table and proper;

( d) That it 1s necessary or expedient to cancel or vary the

!~rms of an allotment for the preservation, or the proper administration, or the management of such property or in the interests of proper rehabilitation of displaced persons.

Then came the two Notifications Nos. SRO 129 dt. July 22, 1952 and SRO 351 dated Feb. 13, 1953 amending and recasting sub-rule (6) of Rule 14 of the Central Rules of 1950 as under:

"(6) Notwithstanding anything cont;llned in this rul~, the Custodian of Evacuee Property in each of the States of Punjab and Patiala and East Punjab States Union shall not exercise the power of cancelling J!ny allotment of rural Evf!cuee prol'erty on a qMasi-permancnt basis. ',.. varying; the terms of any such allotment, except in the following circum-stances :

(i) where the allotment was made although the allottee

owned no agricultural land in Pakistan;

(ii) where the allottee has obtained land in excess of the

area to which he :was entitled under the scheme of allotment of land prevailing at the time of allotment; (iii) where the allotment is to be cancelled or varied- (a) in accordance with an order made by a competent

authority under section 8 of the East Punjab Refu-gees (Registration of Land Claims) Act, 1948; (b) on account of the failure of the allottee to take posses-

sion of the allotted evacuee property within six months of the date of allotment;

(c) in consequence of a voluntary surrender of the allot-

ted evacuoo property, or a voluntary exchange with other available rural evacuee property, or a mutual exchange with such other ~vailable property;

(d) in accordance with any general or special order of

the Ce11tral Government;

Provided that where an allotment is cancelled or varied under .clause -(ii), the allottee shall be entitled to retain such portion of the land to which he would have been entitled under the scheme of quasi-permanent allotment of land~

Provided further that nothing in this sub-rule shall apply t" any application for revision. made under section 26 or

section 2 7 of the Act, within the prescribed time, against an order passed by a lower authority on or before 22nd July, 1952."

Thus the po\ver of resumption or cnnccllation of quasi-pern1anent allotment was restricted and reduced.

The next legislative measure is the Displaced Persons (Com-pensation and Rehabilitation) Act, 195~ (Act No. XLlV of 1954), important provisions whereof which may be useful in dealing \vitb the first question may be noticed. Section 4 provides for the time, the manner and the form of making an application for payment of compensation.

Section 10 of the Act inter alia lays down that where any im-movable property has been kased or allotted to a displaced person by the Custodian under conditions published by the Notification of the Government of Punjab No. 4891-S or 4892-S dated· July 8, 1949 and such property is acquired under the provisions of the Act and forms part of the compensation pool, the displaced person shall so Ionµ as the property remains vested in the Central Government, continue in possession of such property on the same conditions on which he held the property immediately before the date of the acqui-sition. It further provides that the Central Government may for the purpose of payment of compensation to such displaced persons trans-fer to him such property on such forms and conditions · as may be prescribed.

Section 12 provides :-

"12.(1) If the Central Government is of op11uon that it is necessary to acquire any evacuee property for a public purpose, being a purpose connected with the relief and rehabilitation pf displaced persons, including payment of compensation to such persons, the Central Government may at any time acquire such evacuee property by publishing in the official gazette a notification to the effect that the Central Government has decided to acquire such evacuee property in pursuance of this section.

(2) On the publication· of a notification under sub-section (1), the right, title and interest of any evacuee in the evacuee property specified in the notification shall, on and from the beginning of the date on which the notifica-tion is so published, be extinguished and the evacuee pro-

perty shall vest absolutely in the Central Government free from all encumbrances.

(3) "

It may be noted that by virtue of Central Government Notifica-tion No. S.R.O. 697 dated March 24, 1955, under sub-section (1) of this section 12, all evacuee property allotted under the Punjab-Government Notification dated July 8, 1949 was acquired by the Central Government excepting certain specified categories in respect of which proceedings wet:e pending.

Section 13 which deals with compensation for evacuee property acquired says :

"13. There shall be paid to an evacuee compensation . in respect of his property acquired under section 12 in accordance with such principles and in such manner as may be agreed upon between the Governments of India and Pakistan."

Section 14 which provides for the constitution of compensatiorn pool runs thus :

"14. (1) For the purpose of payment of compensation and rehabilitation grants to displaced persons, there shall be constituted a compensation pool which shall consist of :

(a) all evacuee property acquired under section 12, in-

cluding the sale proceeds of any such property and all profits and income accruing from such property; (b) such cash balances lying with the Custodian as may,

by order of the Central Government, be transferred to the compensation pool;

( c) such contributions, in any form whatsoever, as may

be made to the compensation pool by the Central Govem1nent or any State Government;

( d) such other assets as may be prescribed.

(2) The compensation pool shall vest in the Central Government free from all encumbrances and shall be uti-lised iu accordance with the provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder."

Section 16 authorised the Central Government to appoint Manag-ing Officers or constitute Managing Corporations for the custody, management and disposal of compensation pool so that it may be effectively used in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

Section 40 enables the Central Government by notification in the official gazette to make mies. Whereas sub-section ( 1) of the sec-tion confers general power on the Central Government to make rules to carry out the purposes of the Act, sub-section (2) of the Section particularises the subjects on which rules may be made by the Cent-ral Government without prejudice to the general power contained in sub-section (1). Jn exercise of this power, the Central Govern-ment made rules called the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Rules, 1955 and published the same vide Kotifica-tion dated May 21, 1955.

Rule 3 Jays down that an application for compensation may be made by a displaced person having a verified claim or if such dis-placed person is dead, by his successor-in-interest.

Rule 4 prescribes the form of application for compensation. Rule 16 says that compensation shall be payable in accordance with the scale specified in Appendices VIII or IX as the case may be.

Rule 49 as originally made ran thus :

"49. Compensation normally to be paid in the form of land.

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, a dis-placed person having verified claim in, respect of agricultu-ral land shall, as far as possible, be paid compensation by allotment of agricultural land. Provided that where any such person wishes to have his claim satisfied against pro-perty other than agricultural land, he may purchase such property by bidding for it at an open auction or by tender-ing for it and in such a case the purchase price of the pro-perty shall be adjusted against the compensation due on I L this verified claim for agricultural land which shall be con-

verted into cash at the rate specified in Rule 56."

Ju 1960, the following explanation was added to the above rule :

"'Explanation :-In this rule and in the other rules of this chapter, the expression 'agricultural land' shall mean the agricultural land situated in a rural area."

Rule 51 lays down that the scale for the allotment of land as com-pensation in respect of a verified claim for agricultural land shall be the same as in the quasi-permanent land Allotment Scheme in the States of Punjab and Patiala and the East Punjab States Union as set out in Appendix XIV.

Rule 67 A provides :

"67 A. Compensation to displaced persons from West Punjab, etc., in respect of agricultural land. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Chapter. a displaced person from West Punjab or a displw:cd person who was originally domi-ciled in the undivided Punjab. hut who before the partition of India had settled in North-West Frontier Province, Balu-chistan, Bhawalpur or Sind, whose verified claim in respect of agricultural land has not been satisfied or has been satis-fied only partially by the allotment of evacuee land under the relevant notification spccitic_d in section 10 of the Act shall not be paid compensation in any form other than the trans-fer of acquired evacuee agricultural land and rural houses and sites in the State of Punjab or Patiala and East Punjab States Union in accordance with the scales specified in the quasi-permanent allotment scheme operating in those States:

Provided that if any person has been allotted land in a State other than Punjab and his land claim has not been satisfied fully, he may, for the remaining claim, either be allotted land due to him in tbat Stab or issued a Statement of Account which he may utilise for purchase of property form-ing part of the compensation pool or for adjw.tment of pub-lic dues."

Ruic 68 is to the following effect :- "68. Grant of Sanad for transfer of agricultural Jand-Where any agricultural land is transferred to any person under these rules, the transferee shall be granted a Sanad in the form specified in Appendix XV (with such modifica-tions as may be necessary in the circumstances of any parti-cular case), or the t.ransfer may be effected in any other manner in conformity with the provisions of any local or special law relating to transfer of agricultural land in force in the area vvhere such agricultural land is situated." Rule 71 casts an obligation on every person to whom any im-moveable property has been allotted by the Custodian under any of the notifications specified in section 1 0 of the Act to file a declarn-tion in the form specified· in Appendix XVI in the cffice of the Settle-ment Officer or before the authorised officer in the village concerned on the date and place notified under sub-rule ( 4) .

Rule 72 ( 1) provides for an enquiry where the allottee has no verified claim.

Rule 72(2) lays down that if the Settlement Officer is satisfied that the allotment is in accordance with the quasi-pemrnncnt scheme, kV he may pass an order transferring the land allotted to the allottee

in permanent ownership as compensation and shall also i.ssue to. him a sand in the form specified in Appendix XVII or XVIII. as the case may be with such modifications as may be necessary in tile circum-stances of any particular case granting him such right.

After the foregoing conspectus of the various legislafrvc and dele-gated legislative measures, let us see whether the respondent liad any right the enforcement of which he could have sought by means of the above mentioned writ pelitionn. From the nwterial on the re-cord it is abundantly clear that the respondent migrated to India from West Punjab in the wake of the partition of lhc Sub Continent in 1947 and that the settlement and rehabililatio1t authorities satis-fied themselves that he was entitled to an allotment of 113 Standard acres and 3 units of land in. lieu o~ the land left behind by him in Bhawalpur. Since the respondent migrated from Bhawalpur where he had indisputably settled before the partition of the Sub Continent and his verified claim in respect of agricultural land had been only partially satisfied, he could not according to Rule 67A of the Dis- ... placed Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Rules, 1955, be

paid compensation in any form other than by transfer of acquired t· evacuee agricultural land in accordance with the scale specified in the

quasi permanent allotment scheme. Consequently, it was the duty of the Settlement Officer under Ruic 72 (2) of the Displaced Persons I (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Rules, 1955 to pass an order

transfer.ring the land allotted to the respondent in permanent owner· ship as compensation and had to issue him a Sanad in the prescribed form. It also appears that by virtue of Notification No. 697 dated March 24, 1955 issued under sub-section (I) of section 12 of the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act, 1954, all evacuee property allotted under the Punjab Government Notification dated July 8, 1947 (excepting certain specified categories in respect of which proceedings were pending) was acquired by the Central Government. It is in view of this unchallengable position that we

find from the record particularly the copy of Dharam Chand Patwari's statement dated April 6, 1962 made before the Assistant Settlement Commissioner (Annexure 'A' to the petition at pages 24 and 25 of the printed Paper Book) that allotment on permanent proprietary basis of 13 standard acres and 3t units of land situate in village Babmniwala was made in favour of the respondent on March l, 1957; that Sanad evidencing allotment of the aforesaid 28 kila num-bers was issued in favour of the respondent on the same date; that possession of the aforesaid area of 13 standard acres and 3t units was banded over to the respondent on Jnne 17, 1957; that emry regarding delivery of possession of the aforesaid 28 kila I\Umbers was ~-i '1" made by the Patwari in the Roznamcha Waqaati on Jnne 17, 1957; that entries exi9t in khasra girdawaries of village Babmniwala re-garding the respondent's possession of the aforesaid fields from June 17, 1957 upto Rabi 1960 when due to carelessness on the part of the Consolidation Officer, Ratia, Rectangle No. 133 (kila Nos. 4min, 5min, 6min, 7min, 14min, 15, 16, 17min, 24 and 25) and Rectangle No. 134 (kila Nos. 8min, 9min, 18min, 19min, 20, 21miil and 22min) which were allotted in exchange of the aforesaid 2 8 kila numbers were entered not in the name of the respondent bub in the kurrah of the Custodian and subsequently due to the carelessness on the part of the Naib Tehsildar-cum'Managing Officer were allotted to Madan Mohan Singh and others.

In view of the foregoing, we are of the opinion that the respondent bas succeeded in establishing that permanent proprietary allotment of the aforesaid 28 kila numbers of village Bahmniwala was validily made in his favour vide aforesaid allotment order dated March 1, 1957. Accordingly, we have no hesitation in holding that the res-pondent had an enforceable right in respect of the aforesaid 28 1a1a ..1 numbers of village Bahmniwala. In view of our aforesaid finding \ that permanent proprietary allotment of the aforesaid 28 kila numbers was validly made in favour of the respondent which conferred an enforceable right on him, the answer to the second question cannot but be in the negative. The view that we have formed is reinforc-ed by the provisions of section 19 of the Displaced Persons (Com-pensation and Rehabilitation) Act, 1954 and Rule 102 of the I)is-placed Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Rules, 1955 which provide as under :- 'H "19. Powers to vary or cancel allotment of any pro-

perty acquired under this Act.-(1) Notwithstanding any-thmg contained in any contract or any other law for the

SADHU SINGH v. UNION (Jaswant Singh, !.) 1293 time being in force bu} subject to any rules that may be A made under this Act, the managing officer or managing corporation may cancel any allotment or amend the terms of any allotm~nt under which any evacuee property ac-quired under this Act is held or occupied by a person, whether such allotment was granted before or after the B commencement of this Act .......... "

", 102. Cancellation of allotments : "A managing officer · or a managing corporation may in respect of the property

in the compensation pool entrusted to him or to it, cancel an allotment or vary the terms of any such allotment if the allottee-

(a) has sublet or parted with the possession of the whole

or any part of the property allotted to him without the permission of a competent authority, or (b) has used or is using such property for a purpose

other than that for which it was allotted to him with-out the permission of a competent authority, or ( c) has committed any act which is destructive of or per-

manently injurious to the property, or ( d) for /any other sufficient reason to be ree-0rded in

writing.

Provided that no action shall be taken under this rule unless the allottee has been given a reasonable opportunity of being heard."

Though in view of the above quoted provisions, it may, in cer-Jtti.·tain contingencies, be open to the Managing Officer or Managing

Corporation to cancel the allotment under the aforesaid section 19 of the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act, ('·- 1954 read with Rule 102 of the Displaced Perwns (Compensation

and Rehabilitation) Rules, 1955, it cannot be done unless an allot-tee is given a reasonable opportunity of being heard. In the present case, it is clear from the record that no action for cancellation of allot-ment was taken under the aforesaid provisions of the Act and the Rules. It is not understood how without complying with the afore-said provisions, the Naib Tehsildar-cum-Managing Officer allotted the aforesaid parcel of land which alr~ady stood allotted in the name of the respondent to the appellants. The action on the part of tile Naib Tehsildar-cum-Managing Officer was evidently in flagrant viola-tion of the clear and unequivocal provisions of law. Accordingly, I s.c.R.

1294 SUPREME COUl\T REPORTS [1979] 3

I we agree with the High Court that the impngned orders are manifestly illegal,· arbitrary, unjust and cannot be sustained. However, taking into consideration all the facts and circumstances of the case parti-. cularly 'the fact that the appellants appear to have purchased the area in question from Madan M.ohan Singh for a huge sum of Rs . . 40,000/- and invested a considerable ,amount on the construction of a house, we' think that ii. will be. eminently' just and fair if the appel-lants -are allowed to retain Rectan_g!e No. 134 comprising kila Nos. · 8min, 9mi.n, lOmin, 11, 12, 13min, 18min, 19min, 20, 21min and 22min on which their house also starids and Rectangle No. 133 com-prisillg-lcilil Nos. 4min, Smi_n, 6min; 7@n, J4min, 15, 16, 17min, 24 .c and 25 is given over to the respondent. . The learned counsel for

the parties also agree to this c~mrse being adopted in the interest of justice.

,. The respondent shall be at liberty to approach the settlement . '1 . I authorities for allotment of some other suitable land in lieu of Rec-tangle No. 134 comprising. kila Nos. Smfu, 9min, lOmin, 11, 12, :;«. 13min, 18min, 19min, 20, 2lmin and 22min to make up the deficiency, / i if any, in the land to which he may .be entitled and if the latt~i:_i.e. the!;;;,y settlement authorities find that the area already held by th~esp~-•" dent if added to the area now ordered to be given to him still ·f~ short of his entitlemen~, they will be free td allot him an are"a w hi;;''!t ",, will make up his unsatisfied claim provi~d ·he is found otherwise authorised to hold the said area on alloi}ent or . occupy the same under any other law in force in the State.' .w:he ayotmen! of the area to which the respondent may be found entitled to shall, as far as ·1.1 i possible, be made in the vicinity of the are~ f11ready hel:J by him. Sub-joct this modification, the rest of the iii?~ment and clrder 'of the r I High Court will stand. The appeal is disp6sed ·' of accordingly.

' .. ·' . • l P.B.R. ; ·, '

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. • ., .. • l\IGIPF.-409SCI /79-250[}-15-1-80 t.