Petitioner challenged the Financial Commissioner's order upholding the Collector's decision to continue land partition proceedings, directing that mortgaged land be allotted to the mortgagor's share without deferring partition until redemption.
Writ petition dismissed; impugned order by Financial Commissioner upheld.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
CIVIL WRIT PETITION NO.3954 OF 2009 :{ 1 }:
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH
DATE OF DECISION: MARCH 10, 2009
Gurnam Singh
.....Petitioner
VERSUS
Financial Commissioner and others
....Respondents
CORAM:- HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE RANJIT SINGH
PRESENT: Mr. S. S. Rangi, Advocate, for the petitioner. ****
RANJIT SINGH, J.
Gurdial Singh (respondent No.3) filed an application before Assistant Collector Grade I, Rajpura, for partition of land measuring 95 bighas 13 biswas situated in the revenue estate of Village Changera, Tehsil Rajpura. Assistant Collector Grade I approved the mode of partition on 8.10.2001 and fixed the case for preparing Naksha Arra. Spot was inspected and objection of the parties were heard. It was mainly contended that the possession had been disturbed, which will be against the mode of partition. Further a specific objection was raised concerning khasra No.153, 154 and 155 stating that 50% share of these khasra numbers was mortgaged by Gurdial Singh with the Bank and these numbers could not be
CIVIL WRIT PETITION NO.3954 OF 2009 :{ 2 }:
partitioned till re-deemed by Gurdial Singh. Assistant Collector accordingly concluded that partition could be held only after the land was redeemed and respondent No.3 could submit an application in this regard.
Aggrieved against this order, respondent No.3 filed an appeal before the Collector, who accepted the same and remanded the case back to Assistant Collector Ist Grade on 12.2.2004 with a direction that the mortgage land may be added to the share of mortgagor. Now petitioner, Gurnam Singh, impugned this order by filing appeal before Divisional Commissioner, Patiala, who modified the order passed by the Collector on 12.12.2006, directing Assistant Collector Ist Grade, Rajpura, to ascertain possession regarding Khasra Nos.153, 154 and 155 as per the objection raised and pass a speaking order on the same. Direction, however, was to continue with the partition proceedings. Respondent No.3 impugned this order before the Financial Commissioner, who has now up-held the order passed by the Collector by setting-aside the order passed by the Commissioner. The petitioner has, thus, filed the present writ petition to impugn the order passed by the Financial Commissioner.
While passing the impugned order, Financial Commissioner called for a report from the Assistant Collector Ist Grade, Rajpura. As per this report, Khasra Nos.153, 154 and 155 were only found to be having a tubewell bore and one chubacha (water tank) in an area of about 1 marla. This was found to be 8 to 10 years old. The Financial Commissioner, thus, has held that order passed by the Collector was justified wherein he has observed that any land under mortgage be allotted to the co-sharer according to his
CIVIL WRIT PETITION NO.3954 OF 2009 :{ 3 }:
share while transferring his share. The Collector had accordingly held that Assistant Collector Grade I was not justified in passing the order pending partition and the partition was directed to be continued with further direction that the land mortgaged by the party be allotted to his share. It is also noticeable that only 50% of the land in khasra numbers in dispute was mortgaged and the authorities are justified in observing that this portion of land be allotted to the mortgagor during the partition. Simply because a land has been mortgaged would not justify the authorities to defer partition till the land is redeemed. No case for interference in the impugned order as such is made out.
The writ petition is accordingly dismissed.
March 10,2009 ( RANJIT SINGH ) khurmi JUDGE
2 issues framed by the court
Whether partition of mortgaged land should be deferred until redemption.
Whether the Financial Commissioner erred in upholding the Collector's order directing continued partition.
Gurnam Singh
Financial Commissioner
Gurdial Singh
Ranjit Singh
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
