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Writ Petition No. 550-R of 1978, decided on 18th January,1986.
---S. 11--Constitution of Pakistan (1973), Art. 199--Allotment of land, cancellation of--Land in dispute though initially State land, was treated as evacuee property and was allotted as such to claimant displaced persons--High Court in its constitutional jurisdiction upholding allotment, declared order for cancellation of allotment passed by Settlement Authorities as illegal--Custodian of Evacuee. Property being proper forum having jurisdiction in the matter, order passed by Settlement Authorities, held, could not be sustained--Settlement Authorities, therefore, had no jurisdiction to cancel allotment of such land.
Bashir Hussain Khalid for Petitioner.
Ch. Muhammad Nazir Ahmad for Respondent.
Date of hearing: 18th January, 1986.
Through this Constitutional Petition Feroz Din and two others petitioners want this Court to declare the order, dated 3-10-1970 passed by Additional Settlement Commissioner (Lands), Faisalabad, respondent No. 1, to be without lawful authority and of no legal effect.
2. The dispute relates to agricultural land measuring 33 Kanals and 12 Marlas situated in Chak No. 535/G.B., Tehsil and District Faisalabad. This land was allotted to Muhammad Bakhsh, a claimant displaced person, father of the petitioners. On his death, the petitioners inherited this land. The land was initially a State land and was purchased by non-Muslims evacuees in an auction held on 12-6-1945. They paid 5 of the bid on the spot. They also paid the first instalment. Since they could not pay the remaining amount, the land was resumed by the Collector, Lyallpur/Faisalabad on 24-5-1954 with retrospective effect from Kharif 1947. Thereafter, on the application under section 11 of Displaced Persons (Land Settlement) Act, 1958 moved before the Additional Settlement Commissioner (Lands)/Chief Settlement Commissioner (L), Faisalabad, requesting that the State lands so allotted to claimant displaced persons, be cancelled from their names, he, vide impugned order, dated 3-10-1970 cancelled the allotment of the land, hence this petition.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioners mainly contended that since the disputed land had been treated as evacuee and was allotted as such, therefore, the Additional Settlement Commissioner/ Chief Settlement Commissioner, respondent No. 1 had no jurisdiction whatsoever in the matter. Learned counsel for Settlement Department has not been able to controvert the submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioners.
4. I have considered the submissions made by the learned counsel for the parties with care. I find that since the disputed land had been treated as evacuee property and was allotted to Muhammad Bakhsh, father of the petitioners therefore, the Custodian Evacuee Properties and not the Settlement Authorities had jurisdiction in the matter and as such, the Additional Settlement Commissioner, respondent No.l had no authority to pass the impugned order.
5. For what has been stated above, the impugned order is declared to have been passed without lawful authority and of no legal effect. Consequently, the allotment confirmed in favour of Muhammad Bakhsh, predecessor-in-interest of the petitioners shall remain intact notwithstanding the resumption order of the Collector, dated 24-5-1954 and the order of the cancellation of the allotment, dated 3-10-1970 of Additional Settlement Commissioner, respondent No. 1. The parties are left to bear their own costs.
H . B . T . Petition accepted.
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