Dismissed

Ajit Singh v. State of Punjab & Anr.

Supreme Court2 Dec 19661966 INSC 255 · [1967] 2 S.C.R. 1431966 INSC 255

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

A small proprietor within the ceiling limit challenged a village consolidation scheme that took fractions of holdings into a common pool managed by the Gram Panchayat, claiming retrospective appointment of the Consolidation Officer was invalid and market-value compensation owed under Article 31A(1)'s second proviso. Majority held no acquisition by the State occurred and upheld the High Court's dis

What did the court decide?

None; Civil Appeal No. 1018 of 1966 dismissed without costs per majority opinion.

What the court decided

Ajit Singh versus State of Punjab & Anr. — Land Acquisition | Supreme Court (1967)

,\JIT SINGH

STA'.f.E OF PUNJAB & ANR.

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December 2, 1966

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[K. SUBBA RAO, C.J. M. HIDAYATULLAH, S. M, S!KRI,

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R. S. BACHAWAT AND J. M. SHELAT, JJ.j

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Retrospeclivity-Public Officer-Retrospective appointment by l'/01i/i· cation-Acts dpne before date of Notification, if valid.

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Constitution of India, 1950, Arr. 3 lA ( 1), Second proviso-"AcquisitiOn .by Statti', meaning of.

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E:P.st Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation) Act (SO of 1948)--Scheme under-Small portion of land taken from proprietor holding land within ceiling limit-Pr }rietor, if entitled 10 compensation.

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Between May 1961, and May 1962, consolidation proceedings were taken under the East Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of D Fragmentation) Act, 1948, in an estate in which the appellant was a small proprietor llolding land within the ceiling liiµit. The scheme for Cl>n· solidation provided for taking of a fraotion of each proprietor's land and throwing into a common pool which was added to the land already in the possession of the Gram Panchayat. But no portion of the common pool apart from what was already owned by the Panchayat, was reserved for providing income to the Panchayat. The ownership of the common pool was to vest in the proprietary body consisting of the several proprietors, and the Gram Panchayat was to manage and use it for the common needs and benefits of the estate, under r. 16(ii) of the Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation) Rules, 1949; so that, Che proprietor J and non-proprietors would share in the benefits. The appellan: filed a writ petition in 1965, contending that: (I) The ConsoLdation Officer was not appointed till after the repartition was CtJncluded, that. he eould not be appointed retrospectively, that he had no legal authority when he commenced the proceedings, and therefore,_ the F scheme was invalid; and (2) the scheme amounted to "acquisition by the State" within the meaning of the second proviso to Art. 31A(J) of the Constitution, with the result· that compensation to the proprietor at the market rate was payable. The High Court di.,missed the petition.

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On appeal,

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HELD: (Per SubiJa Rao. C. J., Sik1i and Bachawat JJ.) (1) The Consolidation Officer haU no authority to act as such before he was apG poin:ed and what he did, ·purporting to act as such officer, had no binding effect on the ownecs. Further, the State Government could not appoint him and clothe him with authority re:rospectively. But, as the appellant was guilty of Jaches and no manifest injustice was done to him~ the High Court was right in rejec·ing the contention. [147 B-D] (Per Hidayatullah and Shela!, JJ.) : A> the petition w.- filed more lhan three years after the compJet:on of the repartition of holding5. the. H contention should not be entertained in the face of the presUmption urder s. 114. Indian Evidence Act, nan1ely. that the Officer must have been appointed to act as such, as without such appointment he would not have acted. [154 BJ

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[1967] 2 S.C.R.

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SUPREME COURT REPORTS

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144

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(2) (Per Subba Rao, C. J. S1kri and llachawat, JJ.). The word' "acquisition hy the State" in the second proviso to Art. 3 IA(I) do not have any technical meaning. In the cont-.t of Art. 31A the e•pression must have the same meaning as it bas in Art. 3 IA( I )(a). The essential difference between "acquisition by the State" on the one band and "modification or extinguishment of ri$hts" on the other, is that in the first case the beneficiary is the State wbde in the second the beneficiary is not the State. Therefore, if the State has in substance acquired all the rights in the land tor its own pu'l"'ses, even if the title remains with the owner, it canno1 be said that it 1s not acquisilion within !he proviso. [149 B-D; 150 G]

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Start of Wtst Btngal v. Subodh Gopal Bose [1954] S.C.R. 581, Dwarkadas Shriniwas v. TM Sho/apur Spinning and Weaving Co. Ltd., (1954] S.C.R. 674, Sagh/r Ahmad v. State of U.P. [1955] I S.C.R. 707 and Bombay Dyeing and Mfg. Co. Ltd. v. Statt of Bombay, [1958] S.C.R. 1122, followed.

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But on the facts of this case, the beneficiary of the modification ol rights was neither the State nor the Panchayat; and therefore, there was no acquisition by the State within the second proviso. As a result of the scbe11Je the tille to the small fraction of land wLich was taken away for forming lhe common pool ren.ained in !he proprielary body of the holders in the- estate and in !he revenue records, the land would be shown as belonging to all the owners in proportion to their areas. The Oram Panchayat would manage it on behalf of the proprielary body and use it for common purposes, and the proprietors would enjcy the benefits. Bveo the satisfaction and advancement of the non:propri~tors who <!erived benefit from the common pool would enure to the advantage of the pro- prietors who "-'Ould form a more efficient agricullural community. [152 B-G]

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Attar Singh v. State of U.P. [1959] Supp. I ~.C.R. 928, followed.

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Per Hidayalullah and Shelat, JJ. (dissenting) : Article 31A deals with the special subject of "estates" and its intention is to give protection to State action against Arts. 14, 19 and 31 so long as the acquisilion is by the Slate of any estale, or of any righls !herein or the extinguishment or modification of any such rights. To this protection there is an exception, namely, the second proviso, under which land under the personal cultiva- tion of any estate-holder of any kind, which is wi1hin the ceiling limit applicable to him, shall not be acquired unless the market value of the land i-; given as compensation. The \'Ord "acquisition" used in the proviso must take its colour from the same word used earlier in the same Article. and not from tho word as used in an earlier article in juxtaposition with the '"ord "requisition". lt denotes not only the acquisition ot ownership, that is, the entire bundle of rig~ts. but also acquisition of some rights which leaves. the o\l.'ne.r, an o'vner in name only [162 E-163 Al

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In the present case the result of the scheme would be that (i) the proprielor was deprived of his property though only of a small portion: (ii) though the O\'nership v.·as vested in the proprietary body all right~ with regard to the management and income therefrom were vested in the Gram Panchayat established under Punjab Gram Panchayat Acl, 1953; (iii) !he owner.;hip was therefore tran•fcrrcd to another body, the Oram Panchayat. which is an entity different from the Proprietor. lt i'i a local authority included wilhin the <icfinition of "Stale" in Arr. 12, and (iv) the benefit of the income of such lands goes not to the proprietor only. but to all proprietors and non·proprietors in the Panchayat area. Therefore, although the property i~ not actually vested in the State Govern· ment or the Panchayat, the Panchayat acq\Jires almost rhe entire bundle

AJIT SINGH V. PUNJAB (Sikri, /.)

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145

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A of rights. Hence, it is "acquisition" by the State within the meaning of the secoo.d proviso and compensation at market value must be given. (163 D-H; 164 Al

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Moreover, the fact that what was acquired was a small bit has J?-O significance. What is small is vague and uncertain. and the safer rul& 11, that, if the land· of the tenant cultivating it is be:aw the ceiling fixed by law, and if a ponion of it is acquired, no. matter for what purpose the B acquisition takes place, compensation at a rate not lower than the market value must be paid to him. When the Constitution speaks of market value, it is not possible to find compensation in advantages which might accrue indirectly. [164 B-C]

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CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 1018 of 1966.

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c Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated October 5, 1965 of the Punjab High Court in Civil Writ No. 663 of 1965.

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B. R. L. Iyengar, S. K. Mehta and K. L. Mehta, for the

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appellant.

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D K. L. Gossain, 0. P. Malhotra and R. N. Sachthey, for the respondents.

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The Judgment of SuBBA RAu C.J. and S!KRI and BACHA WAT JJ. was delivered by SIKRI, J. The dissenting Opinion ofHIDAYATULLAH and SHELAT, JJ. was delivered by HIDAYATULLAH, J.

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Sikri, J, This appeal by special leave is directed against the E judgment of the Punjab "High Court dismissing a petition filed by the appellant under art. 226 of the Constitution, praying that the scheme of consolidation of village Ropalon, Tahsil Samrola, District Ludhiana, he quashed. The scheme which was sought to be quashed was mad~ under the provisions of the East Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation) Act, 1948, hereinafter F referred to as the Act. On May 2, 1961, a notification was issued under s. 14(1) of the Act, which provided for a declaration of the intention of the State Government to make a scheme for the consolidation of holdings in the estates. Section 14(2) of the Act provides for the appointment of a Consolidation Officer and the preparation of a scheme by him. One Gurkirpal Singh, purporting to act G as the Consolidation Officer, prepared a draft scheme and published it on November 8, 1961, under s. 19(1) of the Act. On January 6, 1962, or January 16, 1962, the scheme was confirmed by the Settlement Officer under s. 20(3) of the Act. After the confirmatio· the Consolidation Officer after obtaining the advice of the landowners of the estate carried out repartition under s: 21 (I) and the boundaries of the holdings as demarcated were published in the H prescribed manner in the estate on February 2 I, I 962. It appears that the Punjab High Court granted a stay order and no further proceedings under the Act could be taken. No possession has been

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II 967] 2 S.C.R.

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SUPllBMB COURT REPORTS

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146

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transferred pursuant to the re-partition. On May 11, 1962, a notification was published ir. the Gazette, purporting to appoint Shri Gurkirpal Singh as Consolidation Officer in respect of the estate Ropalon with effect from No\·ember 4, 1961. On March 10, 1965, Ajit Singh, appellant before us, filed the petition under art. 226 of the Constitution. In the High Court, as before us, it was urged on behalf of the appellant that :

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(I) there could be no retrospective appointment of a Consolidation Officer; and

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(2) Compensation must be paid l0 the appellant for the land reserved in the scheme for various purposes in accordance with the second proviso to art. 31 A(l) inserted by the Seventeenth Amendment.

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We need not mention the other grounds raised before the High Court as they have not been raised before us.

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The High Court held that although there could be no retrospective appointment of a Consolidation Officer, the objection could not be sustained because of !aches of the appellant. On the second point, the High Court helJ that the second proviso to art. 31A(I) was prospectiv~ and not retrospective and did not affect the scheme in question as the rights under :he scheme became vested as soon as the scheme was sanctioned by the Settlement Officer. The High Court also expressed a tentative view that the reservation oflands for common purposes in accordance with the scheme and the Act did not amount to "acquisition" within the contemplation of the second proviso to art. 31A(I). The High Court accordingly dismissed the petition.

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Mr. B.R.L. Iyengar, the learned counsel for the appellant, has urged the following points before us;

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( l) Gurkirpal Singh, when he commenced consolidation proceedings and prepared and published the draft scheme of consolidation did not have legal authority to do so. The scheme being invalid could not be made valid by being enforced by the Settlement Officer.

(2) The notification appointing Gurkirpal Singh Consolidation Officer retrospectively with effect from November 4, 1961, was invalid, as neither the Government nor its delegate, Harcharan Singh, P.C.S., Officer on Special Duty, could appoint a ConsoPdauon Officer retrospectively.

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(3) In the second proviso to arc. 3l(A)(I), the expression "acquisition" means substantial taking over •he benefits ,,f property and conferring it on the State.

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AJIT SINGH V. PUNJAB (Sikri, ].)

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147

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(4) Acquisition means the entire process terminating with possession and extinction of the title of the individual.

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There seems to be substance in the first two points. It seems to us clear that before a person can start acting as a Consolidation Officer he must be appointed as such. Before he is appointed he . B has no authority to exercise any of the functions of a C0nsolidation Officer. What he does purporting to act as a Consolidation Officer· has no bindingforce on the owners and other persons affocted in the estate. The Government cannot by appointing him retrospectively clothe him with authority retrospectively. This can be done only by the Legislature subject to the provisions of the Constitution.

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c But the appellant cannot succeed on these grounds because the High Court, in its discretion, has held that the appellant is not entitled to rely on these objections because of !aches. We cannot say that the discretion has been exercised wrongly. After the notification was published on May 11, 1962, appointing Gurkirpal Singh rettospect;vely with effect from November 4, t 96:, it must have been clear to the appellant th:1t Gurkirpal Singh had not been D appointed Consolidation Officer before he started preparing consolidation proceedings. No adequate explanation has been given for the delay. Further it has not been shown that there has been any manifest injustice.

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Coming now to-the third point raised by Mr. Iyenger, we may E first mention that it was held by this Court in Ranjit Singh v. State of Punjah(¹ ) that the Act . was protected from challenge by art. 3 l A. It is nec~ssary to set out the relevant constitutional provisions. The relevant portion of art. 31A reads as under :

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"31A. (1) Notwith&tanding anything contained in article 13, no law providing for-

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F ( a) the.acquisition by the State of any estate or of any rights therein or the extinguishment or modification of any such rights ......... .

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shall be deemed to be void on the ground that it is inconsistent with, or takes away or abridges any of the rights conferred by article 14, article 19 or article 31 :

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Provided that ................... .

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Provided further that where any law makes any prevision for the acquioition by the State of any ~state and where any land comprised therein is held by a person under his personal cultivation, it shall not be lawful for the State to acquire any portion of such land as is within the H ceiling limit applicable to him under any law for the time being inforce or any building or structure standing thereon

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(l} (19651 1 S.C.R. 82.

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[ 1967] 2 S.C.R

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14 8

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SUPREME COURT REPORTS

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or appurtenant thereto, unless the law relating to the acquisition of such land, building or structure, provides for payment of compem•1tion at a rate which shall not be less than the market value thereof.

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(2)(b) the expression 'rights' in relation to an estate shall include any rights vesting in a proprietor, sub-proprietor, under-proprietor, tenure-holder, raiyat, under-raiyat or other intermediary and any rights or privileges in resp~ct of land revenue." ·

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Relevani portions of articles 19 and 31 may also be set out because the learned counsel have laid stress on the language employed therein.

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"19. (I) All citi~ens shall have the right-

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(f) to acquire, hold and dispose of property, 31. (I) No person shall be deprived of his. property save by authority of law.

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(2) No property .shall be compulsorily acquired or requisitioneJ ~ave for a public purpose and save by authority of a kw which provides for compensation for the property so acquired or· requisitioned and either fixes the amount of the compensation or specifies the principles on which, and the manner in which, the compensation is to be determined and given; and no such law shall be called in question in any court on the ground that the compensation provided by that law is not adequate.

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(2A) Where a law does not provide for the transfer of the ownership or right to possession of any property to the State or to a corporntion owned or controlled by the State, it shall not be deemea to provide for the compulsory acquisition or requisitioning of property, notwithstanding that it deprives any person of his property."

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It would be noticed that art. 31A(l)(a) mentions four categories; first acquisition by the State of an estate; second, acquisition by the State of rights in an estate; third, the extinguishment of rights in an estate, and, fourthly, the modification of rights in an estate. These four categories are mentioned separately and are different. In the first two categories the State "acquires" either an estate or rights i!I an estate. In other words, there is a transference of an estate or the rights in an estate to the State. When there is a transference of an estate to the State, it could be said that all the rights of the holder -0f the estate have been extinguished. But if the result in the case of the extinguishment is the transference of all the rights in an estate to the State, it would properly fall within the expression "acquisition

AJIT SINGH V. PUNJAB (Sikri, J.)

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149

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A by the State of an estate". Similarly, in the case of an acquisition by the State of a right in an estate it could also be said that the rights of the owner have been modified since one of the rights of the owner has been acquired.

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It seems to us that there is this essential difference between "ac-

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B quisition by the State" on the one hand and "modification or extinguishment of rights" on the other that in the first case the beneficiary is the State while in the latter case the beneficiary of the modification or the extinguishment is not the State. For example, suppose the State is the landlord of an estate and there is a lease of that property, and a Jaw provides for the extinguishment of leases

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c held in an estate. In one sense it would be an extinguishment of the rights of a lessee, but it would properly fall under the category of acquisition by the State because the beneficiary of the extinguishment would be the State.

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Coming now to the second proviso to art. 31 A, it would be

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noticed that only one category is mentioned in the proviso, the ca-

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D tegory being "acquisition by the State of an estate." It means that the Jaw must make a provision for the acquisition by the State of an estate.. But what is the true meaning of the expression "acquisition by the State of an estate". In the context of art. 3IA, the expression "acquisition by the State of an estate" in the second proviso to art. 31A(I) must have the same meaning as it has in cl.

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E (I)(a) to art. 31A. It is urged on behalf of the respondents before us that the expression "acquisition by the State of any estate" in art. 31A(l)(a) has the same meaning as it has in art. 31(2A). Jn other words, it is urged that the expression "acquisition by the State of any estate" means transfer of the ownership or right to possession of an estate to the State Mr. Iyengar on the other hand urges that the expression "acquisition by the State" has a very wide meaning.

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F and it would bear the same meaning as was given by this Court in The State of West Bengal v. Subodh Gopa/ Bose,(¹ ) Dwarkadas Shrinivas of Bombay•v. The Sholapur Spinning & Weaving Co, Ltd.('} Saghir Ahmad v. State of U.P.(3) and Bombay Dyeing and Manufacturing Co. Ltd. v. The State of Bombay(<). In these cases this Court had given a wide meaning to the word "acquisition", Jn

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G Dwarkadas Shrinivas of Bombay v. The Sholapur Spinning & Weaving Co. Ltd.(') Mahajan, J., observed at page 704 as follows :

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".The word 'ac_c1uisitirn' has quite a . ":ide concept,

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meamng the procunng of property or the takmg of it permanently or temporarily. It does not necessarily imply the acquisition of legal title by the State in the property

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H taken possession of."

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(I) [19641 S.C.R. 587.

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(3) [1955] 1 S.C.R. 7oJ1.

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(2) [1954] S.C.R. 674. (4) [1958] S.C.R. 112!.

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(1967] 2 S.C.R.

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SUPREME COUkT REPORTS

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150

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He further observed al p. 705 :

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"I prefer to follow the view of the majority of the Court, because it seems to me that it is more in consonance with juridical principle that possession after all is nine-tenths of ownership, and once possession is taken away, practically everything is taken away, and that in construing the Constitution it is the substance and the practical result of the act of the State that shou:d be considered rather than its purely legal aspect."

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Bose J., observed at p. 734 as follows:

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"In my opinion, the possessionnnd acquisition referreil lo in clause (2) mean the sort of 'possession' and 'acquisition' that amounts to 'deprivation' within the meaning of clause (1). No hard and fast rule can be laid down. Each case must depend on its own facts. But if there is substantial deprivation, then clause (2) is, in my judgment, attracted. By substantial deprivation I mean the sort of deprivation that substantially robs a man of those attributes of enjoyment which normally accompany rights to, or an interest in, property. The form is unessential. It is the the substance that we must seek."

¶123

Let us now see whether the other part of the second proviso throws any light on this question. It would be noticed that it refers to ceiling limits. It is W( '.I-known that under various Jaws dealing with land reforms, no pcrsor. apart from certain exceptions can hold land beyond a ceiling fixed under the law. Secondly, the proviso says that not only the land exempted from acquisition should be within the ceiling limit but it also must be under personal cultivation. The underlying idea of this proviso seems to be that a person who is cultivating land personally, which is his source of livelihood, should not be deprived of that land under any law protected by art. 31A unless at least compensation al the market rate is given. Jn various States most of the persons have already been deprived of land beyond the ceiling limit on compensation which was less than the market value. It seems to us that in the light of all the considerations mentioned above the words "acquisition by the State" in the second proviso do not have a technical meaning, as contended by the learned counsel for the respondent. If the State has in substance acquired all the rights in the land for its own purposes, even if the title remains with the owner, it cannot be said that it is not acquisition within the second proviso to art. 3 IA.

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But the question still remains whether even if a wider meaning is given to the word "acquisition" what has been done by the scheme and the Act is acquisition or ~ot within the meaning of the second proviso. In other words, does the scheme only modify rights

AJIT SINGH v. PUNJAB (Sikri, J.)

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151

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A or does it amount to acquisition of land? The scheme is not part of the record, but it appears that 89B-18B-l 1B (Pukhta) of land was owned by the Gram Panchayat prior to consolidation, which was used for common purposes. Some further area was reserved for common purposes as khals, paths, khurrahs, Panchayat ghars and schools, etc., after applying cut upon the rightholders on pro-rata

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B basis. It does not appear that any land, apart from what was already owned by the Panchayat, was reserved for providing income to the Panchayat. Therefore, in this case we are not concerned with the validity of acquisition for such a purpose.

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Rule 16(ii) of the Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation) Rules, 1949, provides :

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c "In an estate or estates where during consolidation pro-

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. ceedings there is no sham/at Deh land or such land is considered inadequate, land shall be reserved for the village Panchayat and for other common purposes, under section 18(c) of the Act, out of the common pool of the village at a scale prescribed by Government from time to

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D time. Proprietary rights in respect of land so reserved (except the area reserved for the extension of abadi of proprietors and non-proprietors) shall vest in the proprietary body of estate or estates concerned and it shall be entered in the column of ownership of record of rights as (Jumla Ma/kan wa Digar Haqdaran Arazi Hasab Rasad

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E Raqba). The management of such land shall be done by the Panchayat of the estate or estates concerned on behalf of the village proprietary body and the panchayat shall have the right to utilise the income derived from the land so reserved (or the common needs and benefits of the estate or estates concerned."

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F It will be noticed that the title still vests in the proprietary body, the management of the land is done on behalf of the proprietary body, and the land is used for the common needs and benefits of the estate or estates concerned. In other words a fraction of each proprietor's land is taken and formed into .a common pool so tha. the whole may be used for the common needs and benefits of the estate, mentioned above. The prnnrietors naturally would also share in

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G the benefits along with others.

¶142

In Attar Singh v. The State of U.P.(') Wanchoo J., speaking for the Court, said this of the similar proviso in a similar Act, namely the U.P. Consolidation of Holdings Act (U.P. Act V of 1954) as amended by the U.P. Act XVI of 1957 :

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"Thus the land which is taken over is a small bit, which sold by itself would hardly fetch anything. These

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(I) [19591 Supp. I s.c.R. 928 at p. 938.

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[ 1967] 2 S.C.R.

¶147

SUPREME COURT REPORTS

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152

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small bits of land are collected from various tel1ureholders and consolidated in one place and added to the land which might be lying vacant so that it may be used for the purposes of" 14(l)(ee). A compact area is thus created and it is used for the purposes cf the tenure-holders themselves and other villagers. Form CH-21 framed under r. 41(a) shows the purposes to which this land would he applied, namely, (') plantation of trees, (2) pasture land, (3) manure pits, (4) threshing floor, (5) cremation ground, (6) graveyards, (7) primary or other school, (8) playground, (9) Panchayatghar, and (IO) such other objects. These small bits of land thus acquired from tenure-holders are consolidated and used for these purposes, which are directly for the benefit of the tenure-holders. They are deprived of a small hit and in place of it they are given advantages in a much larger area of land made up of these small bits and also of vacant land."

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In other words, a proprietor gels advantages which he could never have got apart from the scheme. For example, if he wanted a threshing ftcor, a manure pit, land for pasture, khal, etc., he would not have been able to have them on the fraction of his land restrved for common purposes.

¶151

Does such taking away of property then amount to acquisition by the State of any land ? Who is the real beneficiary ? Is it the Panchayat ? It is clear that the title remains in the proprietary body and in the revenue records the land would be shown as belonging to "all the owners and other right holders in proportion to their areas." The Panchayat will manage it on behalf of the proprietors and use it for common purposes; it cannot use it for any other purpose. The proprietors enjoy the benefits derived from the use of land for common purposes. It is true that the non-proprietors also derive benefit but their satisfaction and advancement enures in the end to the advantage of the proprietors in the form of a more efficient agricultural community. The Panchayat as such does not enjoy any benefit. On the facts of this case it seems to us that the beneticiary of the modification of rights is not the State, and therefore there is no acquisition by the State within the second proviso.

¶152

In the context of the 2nd proviso, which is trying to preserve the rights of a person holding land under his personal cultivation, it is impossible to conceive that such adjustment of the rights of persons holding land under their personal cultivation in the interest of village economy was regarded as something to be compensated for in cash.

In this view of the matter it is not necessary to d~al with the fourth point raised by the learned counsel for the appellant because

¶162

AJIT SINGH v. PUNJAB (Hidayatullah, J.)

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I 53

¶164

.A it does not matter whether the acquisition is complete or not, as even jf we hold that the acquisition is not complete and it has yet to be completed, the second proviso to art. 31A(l) would not prevent the State from proceeding with the acquisition.

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In the result the appeal fails and is dismissed, but there would be no o.rder as to costs. B

¶166

Hidayatullah, J. This is an appeal against the judgment and order of the High Court of Punjab, October 5, 1965, dismissing a petition under Arts. 226 and 227 of the Constitution filed by' the appellant to quash the consolidation of village Ropalon, Tehsil Sarmr~Ja, District Ludhiana. He challenged the consolidation c mainly on two grounds which alone were pressed before us in this appeal. The first was that the Consolidation Officer ( Gurkirpal Singh) was not appointed under the East Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation) Act, 1948. till after the repartition was concluded. The consolidation work done by him was, accordingly said to be without jurisdiction and a nullity. D The second ground was that there were 89 bighas, 18 bi.nras and 18 biswar.is of pukhta lands with the Gram Panchayat prior to the consolidation proceedings btit under the consolidation an additional 123 kanals and 14 mar/as were taken from the common pool and were given to the Panchayat and a pro rata cut was applied to the land of ~II the landholders. The appellant contended that, as he was a small landholder and his land had also been taken E without the payment of compensation, as required under Art. 31-A(l), 2nd proviso, the acquisition was illegal and confiscatory. The opposite party joined issue on both the points and also submitted that on fresh measurements 123 kanals and 14 mar/as land was found to be in excess.

¶167

¶168

The High Court rejected the first contention on the ground of ]aches on the part of the appellant and also on merits. We see no reason to differ. The State Government acting under s. 41 delegated its rowers under ss. 14(1) and (2) of the Consolidation Act to one Harcharan Singh. Section 14(2) gives powers to appoint a Consolidation Officer. Harcharan Singh was, there- G fore, competent to appoint a Consolidation Officer. It is fairly obvious that Gurkirpal Singh would not act as Consolidation Officer unless appointe~ to act as such by Harcharan Singh. The affidavit of the State does not state that an order was passed an relies on the notification. No doubt a notification was is~ued by Harcharan 5ingh as late as May 3, 1962, appointing Gurkirpal H Singh as Consolidation Officer with effect from November 4, 1961, but s. 14(2) only speaks of appointment of a Consolidation Officer and does not lay down that it shall be by notification. In this respect: it. differs from some other sections such as s. 20 of the Act Ml9 Sup.CI/66-10

¶169

(I 967] 2 S.C.R.

¶170

SUPREME COURT REPORTS

¶171

154

¶172

under which Settlement Officers (Consolidation) are to be appointed by notification. It is true that the original order appointing Gurkirpal Singh was not produced but there is a presumption that he must have been so appointed because he would not act without a proper appointment. The notification which is produced would itself be redundant if an order appointing Gurkirpal Singh before he began to act as Consolidation Officer had, in fact, been passed. The only defect is that the original order is not available but as the petition was filed more than three years after the completion of the consolidation the objection can hardly be entertained in the face of the presumption under s. 114 of the Indian Evidence Act. We would, therefore, not entertain the objection. It is a moot point, however, whether Harcharan Singh could make up his lapse (if any) by a subsequent and a retrospective notification. As we do not entertain th~ objection we do not consider that question.

¶173

As regards the second point it may be pointed out that on an earlier occasion the Consolidation Act was challenged as ultra vires the Constitution inasmuch as it sough~ to deprive the landholders of their property and Art. 31 was invoked. Before the judgment of this Court could be delivered the Seventeenth Amendment of the Constitution came into force. Counsel in that case were invited to reopen the argument if they desired bnt declined. The Courl, therefore, cons;dered the validity of the Consolidation Act and upheld it on the ground that it was a measure of agrarian reform and was protected even before Art. 3 I-A was amended by the Seventeenth Amendment Act. The judgment of this Court is reported in Ranjit Singh and others v. State of Punjab and others(') and it expressly refrained from making any allusion to the Seventeenth Amendment. At the hearing of this appeal no attempt was made to question the Consolidation Act and it must, therefore, be assumea to be validly enacted and to be constitutional.

The question that remains is whether the appellant, who is a small landholder holding land within the ceiling and has lost some of it, is entitled to compensation at market rate as required by the second proviso to Art. 31-A as now incorporated in the O>nstitution. To understand this we shall refer first to what is being done und~r the Consolidation Act and then consider whether the Act is unsupportable in view 'of the second proviso to Article 31-A(l) as contended. The Consolidation Act is passed to provide for the compulsory consolidation of agricultural holdings and to prevent their fragmentation. Section 18 of the Act provides that notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force it shall be lawful for any Consolidation Officer to direct inter alia:

¶181

¶182

¶183

(I) (19~5] I S.C.R. 82.

¶184

AJIT SINGH v. PUNJAB (Hidayatullah, I.)

¶185

155

¶186

¶187

"(a) that any land specifically assigned for any common purpose shall cease to be so assigned and to assign any other land in its place;

¶188

(b)

¶189

(c) that if in any area under consolidation no land B is reserved for any common purpose including extension of the village abadi, or if the land so reserved is inadequate, to assign other land for such purpose.

¶190

Section 46 of the.Consolidation Act empowers the State Government to make rules for carrying out the purposes of the Act and c in particular to provide for :

¶191

¶192

"(e) the manner in which the area is to be reserved under section 18 and the manner in which it is to be dealt with and also the manner in w!1ich the village abadi is to be given to proprietors and non-proprietors (including scheduled castes, Sikh backward classes, artisans and labourers) on payment of compensation or otherwise;"

¶193

In furtherance of this power two rules have been framed which are numbered l 6(i) and l 6(ii). These rules provide for the reservation of the abadi for the proprietors as well as the non-proprietors and for reservation of land for the Gram Panchayat. On the E present occasion we are concerned with sub-rule (ii), which was added on April 9, 1957 by the Punjab Government to the rules framed under the Act. It reads :

¶194

¶195

"l 6(ii) Jn an estate or estates where during consolidation proceedings there is no sham/at deh land or such F land is considered inadequate, land shall be reserved for the village Panchayat, under section 18(c) of the Act, out of the common pool of the village at a scale prescribed by Government from time to time. Proprietary rights in respect of land, so reserved (except the area reserved for the extension of abadi of proprietors and G non-proprietors) shall vest in the proprietary body of the estate or estates concerned, and it shall be entered 'n the column of ownershir of record of rights. as (jumla malikan wa digar haqdaran arazi basab rasad raqba). Th<: management of such land shall be done by the Panchayat of the estate or estates concerned on behalf of H the village proprietary body and the Panchayat shall have the right to utilize the income derived from the land so reserved for the common needs and benefits of the estate or estates concerned."

¶196

[ 196 7] 2 S.C.R.

¶197

156

¶198

SUPREME COURT REPORTS

¶199

¶200

1be rule was declared ultra vires by the Punjab High Court in MU113/ia Singh v. State of Punjab.(') The sub-rule was, however, saved by the second amendins; Act (27 of 1960) which gave legal cover to the sub-rule by including a definition of "common pur;-ose" to the following effect :-

¶201

"2(bh) 'Common purpose' means any purpose in B relation to any common need, cori,enience or benefit of the village and includes the following !'Urposes :- (i) extension of the village obodi: (ii) provide income for the Panciiayat of the village concerned for the benefit of the village community; c (iii) village roads and paths; village drains; village wells, ponds or tanks; village watercourses or water channels; village bus stands and waiting places; manure pits; hada rori; publi~ latrines; cremation and burial grounds; PanD chayat Ghar; Janj Ghar; grazing grounds; tan11inf places; mela grounds; public places, of religious er charitable nature; and (iv) schools and playgrounds, dispensaries, hospitals and institutions of like nature, waterworks or tube-wells, whether such schools. play E grounds, dispensaries, hospitals, institutions, waterworks or tube-wells may be managed and controlled by the State Government or not." Simultaneously a new section (s. 23-A) was inserted in the Consolidation Act to the following effect :- F "23-A. As soon as a scheme comes into force the management and control of all lands assigned or reserved for common purposes of the village under section 18 - (a) in the case of common purposes specified in sub-clause (iv) of clause (bb) of section 2 G in respect of which the management and control are to be exerc!sed by the State Government , shall vest in the State Government; and (b) in the case of any other common purpose, shall vest in the panchayat of that village; and the State Government or the Panchayat, H as the case may be, sha:I be entitled to appro(1) I.L.R. [1961] 1 Punjab 589.

¶202

Simultaneously a new section (s. 23-A) was inserted in the Consolidation Act to the following effect :-

¶203

AJIT SINGH v. PUNJAB (Hidayat.ullah, J.)

1·57

priate the income accruing therefrom for the benefit of the village community, and the rights and interests of the owners of such lands shall stand modified and extinguished accord;ngly :

Provided that in the case of land as.signed or reserved for the extension of village abadi or manure pits for the proprietors and non-proprietors of the village, such land shall vest in the proprietors and non-proprietors to whom it is given under the scheme of consolidation.'"

¶212

The preamble of the Consolidation Act was also a mended suitably All these amendments were with retrospective e !feet.

¶213

"The Punjab Gram Panchayat Act, 1953 (4of1953) has been passed to provide for better administration in the rural areas of the Punjab by Panchayats. By s. 19 of the Panchayat Act various administrative duties are assigned to the panchayat which is to look after matters like sanitation, drainage, supply of water, burial and cremation grounds, public health, schools and hospitals etc. and in particular it provides :

¶214

"(f) pounds for animals;

¶215

¶216

(n) the development of agriculture and village industries, and the destruction of weeds and pests;

¶217

( o) starting and maintaining a grain fund for the cultivators and lending them seed for sowing purposes on such conditions as the Gram Panchayat niay approve;

¶218

¶219

( q) allotment of places for preparation and co'lservation of manure;

¶220

-I

¶221

¶222

(t) framing and carrying vut schemes for the improved methods of cultivation and management of land to increase production."

¶223

The Punjab Legislature also passed the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act (I of 1954) with the object of regulating the rights in sham/at deh and abadi deh. The Regulation Act vests all rights of management in the sham/at deh in the village PanH chayat and in the land in the abadi deh under a house owned by a non-proprietor. Section 4 lays down how the Panchayat is to deal with the matters and provides :is follows :-

¶224

(1967] 2 S.C.R.

¶225

SUPREME COURT REPORTS

¶226

158

¶227

¶228

"All lands vested in a panchayat by virtue of the provisions of this Act shll be utilised or ctisposed of by the panchayat for the benefit of the inhabitants of the village concerned, in the mnner prescribed."

¶229

¶230

Section 6 provides :

¶231

"Any income accruing from the use and occupation of the lands vested in a panchayat shall be credited to the panchayat fund and shall he utilised in the manner prescribed."

¶232

¶233

Section 7 finally provides as follows :-

¶234

.. No person shall be entitled to any compensation for any loss suffered or alleged to hav~ been suffered as a ri:sult of coming into force of this Act."

¶235

There is, however. on the statute book in the Punjab yet another Act which is intitulcd Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, (10 of 1953) as amended by Act 57 of 1953 and Act 11 of 1955. By that Act security of land tenures, fixing of areas for 'self-cultivation' is provided and there is conferment of rights on tenants to purchase lands under their cultivation from landholders.

¶236

These Acts between them, therefore, provide for the establishment of Gram Panchayat which ;s to deal with the sham/at deh and to look after the social needs of a village, yet giving security to the te'lants and allowing for consolidation of holdings, with a view to pro venting fragmentation. The operation of these Acts is visible in the facts of this case, because the sh,,mlat deli is altered dnd more land is granted in the consolidation to the village Panchayat ostensibly for the purpose of construction of Panchayat Ghar and a school and for various other common purposes. No compensation is paid for the lands which have been taken away from the landholders even though they claim that their case is taken out of Arts. 31 and 31A and is covered by the second proviso to Art. 31-A(I) of the Constitution as framed by the Seventeenth Amendment.

¶237

These articles were amended by the First, the Fourth and the Seventeenth Amendments, but reference is made here to the articles (omitting portions not relevant to our purpose) as they stand after the Seventeenth Amendment :

"31. (I) No person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law.

¶243

(2) No property shall be compulsorily acquired or requisitioned save for a public purpose and save by authority of law which provides for compensation for the property so acquired or requisitioned and either fixed the amount

¶244

¶245

AJIT SINGH v. PUNJAB (Hidayat11//ah, J.)

159

of the compensation or specifies the principles on which, and the manner in which, the compensation is to be determined and given; and no such law shall be called in question in any court on the ground that the compensation provided by that law is not adequate.

¶250

(2A) Where a law does not provide for the tra!'sfer of the ownership or right to possession of any property to the State or to a corporation owned or controlled by the State, it shall not be deemed to provide for the compulsory acquisition or requisitioning of property, notwithstanding that it deprives any person of his property.

¶251

¶252

¶253

31A. Saving ,·f laws providing for acquisition of estates, etc.

¶254

¶255

(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in article 13, no law providing for-

¶256

(a) the acquisition by the State of any estate or of any rights therein or the extinguishrnent or modification of any such rights, or

shall be deemed to be void on the ground that it is inconsistent with, or takes away or abridges any of the rights conferred by article 14, article 19 or article 31 :

¶261

Provided further that where any law makes any provision for the acquisition by the State of any estate and where any land comprised therein is held by a person under his personal cultivation, it shall not be lawful for the State to acquire any portion of such land ac is within the ceiling limit applicable to him under any law for the time being in force or any building or structure standing thereon or appurtenant thereto, unless the !aw relating to the acquisition of such land, building or structure, provides for payment of compensation at a rate which shall not be less than the market value thereof.

¶262

¶263

(1967] 2 S.C.R.

¶264

SUPREME COURT REPORTS

¶265

160

¶266

(2) Jn this article,-

¶267

(a) the expression "estate" shall, in relation to any local area, have the same n1eaning as that expression or its local equivalent has in the existing law rc:ating to land tenures in force in that area and shall also include-

¶268

¶269

(i) any jagir, inam or muafi or other similar grant and in the States of Madras and Kerala, any janmam right;

¶270

(ii) any lar.d held under ryot wari settlement;

¶271

(iii) any land held or let for purposes of agriculture or for purposes ancillary thereto, including waste land, forest land, land for pasture or sites of buildings and other structures occupied by cultivators of land, dgricultural labourers and village artisans;

¶272

¶273

¶274

(b) the expression 'rights', in relation to any estate, shall include any rights vesting in a proprietor, tenure-holder, raiyat, under-raiyat or other interm~diary and any rights or privileges in respect of land revenue."

¶275

The case of the appellant is that under the 2nd proviso to Art. 31-A( 1 ), he is entitled to compensation because land under his personal cultivation is an estate, and land within the ceiling limit cannot be acquired without payment of compensation which is less than the market value of his land, notwithstanding any law enabling acquisition of land for the Panchayat. The State contends that no land h;is been acquired because all lands continue to be recorded in the names of the owners in proportion to the area originally held by them as provided by rule l 6(ii) and the lands are to be used for the benefit of the proprietors. The appellant contends that this is acquisition all the same. A .question thus arises : what is meant by 'acquisition' and 'to acquire' in the second proviso?

¶276

To determine the correct meaning it is necessary to view Articles 31 and 31-A together. The State seeks to establish a contrast bet•veen acquisition and requisition and contends that "acquisition" me• s a total deprivation of the property for all time ·and "requi .• on" means either a partial deprivation or deprivaticn for a time. It submits that by the former there is a change of ownership and by the latter a change in possession or enjoyment without a change in ownership. This contrast the State seeks to establish

AJtT SINGH v. PUNJAB (Hidayatul/ah, I.) 16 r

¶281

A from the way in which the words "acquisition" and "requisition"' and "acquired" and "requisitioned" are used in juxtaposition in the two Articles. We have, therefore, to examine the scheme of the two Articles to see if they throw any light upon the matter.

¶282

Before this is done it •may be admitted that the distinction between -''acquisition" and "requisition" is a real one and legisla- · B tive practice in the past has clearly provided separately for acquisi-tion and requisition in Acts which were even named acquisition and requisition Acts. The distinction was also made by the Government of India Act, 1935. Legislative practice, however, uniform is not always conclusive. We must discover from the Constitution itself, how the words are to be understood. What W.en are c the indications in the Constitution?

¶283

The first indication is in the legislative entry No. 42 in List 3 · (Seventh Schedule) which was added by the Constitution Seventh Amendment. Before the Amendment the entry read :

¶284

"42. Principles on which compensation for property D acquired or requisitioned for the purposes of the Union or of a State or for any other public purpose is to be determined, and the form and the manner in which such compensation is to be given."

¶285

The entry now reads· "Acquisition and requisitioning of property". These entries give an indication that the Constitution continues to E · i:nake a distinction between the two terms. Next Art. 31 begins by laying down in clause (1) that no person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law and goes on to say in cl. (2) that no property shall be compulsorily acquired or requisitioned save'for public purpose and save by authority of law which provides for compensation for the property so acquired or requisitioned and either fixes the amount of compensation or specifies the principles ' on which and the manner in which, the compensation is to be determined and given. The words of the article refer to acquisition and requisition of property. Clause 2(A), which was add~d by the Fourth Amendment, uses different phraseology. This clause says that where a law does not provide for the transfer of ownership or right to possession of any property to the State or G to a corporation owned or controlled by the State, it shall not be deemed to provide for the compulsory acquisition or requisitioning of property, notwithstanding that it deprives any person of his property. This means that property shall not be considered to be compulsorily acquired or requisitioned unless the law provides for the transfer of the ownership or right to possession to the State H or to a corporation owned or controlled by the State. The Gram Panchayat is a local authority and by virtue of the definition of "State" in Art. 12 stands included in that term. Therefore, a law providing for the transfer of ownership or righ: to possession to

¶286

[ 196 7] 2 S.C.R.

¶287

162

¶288

Sl'PRDIE COURT REPORTS

¶289

the Gram Panchayat is for the purposes of Art. 31-A(l) and (2), a law providing fo, the compulsory acquisition or requisitioning of the property.

¶290

The contention of the Stat~ is that in Art. 31(2A) we get the clue to the meanings of the wcrds "acquisition" and "requisition" and that the former indicates th, transfer of ownership and the !alter the transfer of the right lo possession. It is, therefore, submiu~d that the transfer of the use of the land to Gram Panchayat with the . ownership still in the cultivators (as is shown by the entry of their names as owners of sham/at deh) and use of the land for their benefit indicate a requisitioning of the lands, that is to oay, a transfer of the right to possession merely and not acquisition, that is to say, transfer of ownership. The conclusion is thus drawn that in?~much as the second proviso Spt:aks of acquisition and not requisiuon, it cannot apply t0 the r,ase of the appellant and persons like him who are still regarded as owners of the lands although they may be deprived of the immediate right to possession by the handing over of land to the Panchayat for management. It is urged that such persons arc not entitled to the advant?ge of the second proviso since their land is not acquired as contemplated therein. We ·cannot accept this argument.

¶291

Article 31-A deals with a special subject, namely, the saving of laws providing for acquisition of 'estates'. This article saves any law from an attack under Arts. 14, 19 and 31 provided it is for the acquisition by the State of an estate or of any rights therein or the extinguishment or modification of any such rights. It will be noticed that here the article does not refer 10 property as such, but speaks of an estate as defined in the Article and also of rights in the estate. Estate is defined to include, among other things, "any land held or let for purposes of agriculture or for purposes ancillary thereto, including waste land, forest !and, iand for pasture or sites of buildings and other structures occupied by cultivators of land, agriculiural labourers and village artisans". Applying the definition, the lands under cultivation must he regarded as 'estates'. Now the intention underlying Art. 31-A is to give protection to State action against Arts. 14, 19 and 31 so long as the a-.,uisition is by the State of any esto;e or of any rights therein or the extinguishrnent or modification of any such rights. To this protection there is only one exception and that is to be found in the second proviso. It is that L;nd under the personal cultivation of any estate holder of any kind which is within the ceiling limit ~ oplicable to such person, shall not be acquired, unless at least n •rkct value of the land is given as compensation. Such land c •.. he acql';.red but only on compensation which is not less than the market value. The word "acquisition" used in the proviso mu~! take its colour from the same word used earlier and not from the word as Lsed in the earlier article in juxtaposition with the

AJIT SINGH v. PUNJAR (Hidayatullah, J.)

¶301

163

¶302

A word requisition. The word must denote not only the acquisition of ownership, that is to say, the entire bundle of rights, but also acquisition of some rights particularly an acquisition which leaves the person an owner in name only.

¶303

•

¶304

Article 31-A, it is submitted by the State, introduces two fur-

¶305

ther concepts, viz., extinguishment of rights and modification of

¶306

B rights. Jn the case of extinguishment, if all the rights in the property are extinguished, the result would be nothing else than acquisition. For, no property can remain in suspense without the rights therein being vested in someone or the other. Jn this case the property goes to the Panchayat which is included in 'State'. In the case of modification of rights all the rights of ownership remain

¶307

c in the owner except that they would be modified by some statutory provisions. In such a case the conception either of <1cquisition or requisition may not apply. Jn the present case bits of properties are being taken from the lands belonging to th~ appellants and others and are thrown in a common lot. The ownership is supposed to be vested in a proprietary body consisting of several

¶308

D proprietors. The statute provides that though ownership is vested in the said proprietary body the manag~ment of the land would be with the Panchayat. The only obligation thrown on the Panchayat is that the income arising from such land should be utilized for the.common benefit not only of the proprietors but a:so of nonproprietors in the Panchayat area. The result of these provisions is (I) that a proprietor is undoubtedly deprived of his property howsoever small a proportion it may be thereof; (2) the ownership in such a property is transferred to another body which under the statute is an entity different from the proprietor 11imself; (3) though the ownership is vested in such a proprietary body all rights with regard to the management and income thereof are vested in a Panchayat; and (4) the benefit of the income from such lands gc ·s

¶309

F not to the proprietor but to all the proprieturs as well as nonproprietors in the Panchayat area. Although the property is not actually vested either in the State Government or the Panchayat a device is being made in the Act to escape th~ concept of 'acquisition' to avoid the payment of compensation required under the second proviso to Art. 31A. Jn substance and in effect this is nothing but a colourable use of the provisions of Art. 31-A by

¶310

G making out a case of modification of rights when there is in reality an acquisition, mainly for the sake of avoiding compensation.

¶311

Therefore, when the State acquires almost the entire bundle of rights, it is acquisition within the second proviso and compensation at market rates must be given. It is not at all difficult to H determine this compensation. The total land vf the holder mi•st be assessed at market value and the value of the dimunition of the area determined proportionately. The appellant is thus entitled to compensation and he cannot be deprived of land within

¶312

[1967) 2 S.C.R.

¶313

SUPREME COURT REPORTS

¶314

164

¶315

his ceiling without payment of compensation calculated in the manner indicated. It is admitted that his land has been reduced to somet?ling less than the ceiling applicable to him.

¶316

¶317

It is contended that what is acquired is a small bit from each landholder and that is not of much significance. We do not kno\ what rule is in contemplation. If it is the de minimis rule, we can only say that it would be a most unsatisfactory mode of avoidance of the constitutional provision. What is a small bit is a very vague and uncertain expression. The safe rule is that the Constitution means what it says, that is, land within the ceiling is not to be touched unless compensation at market rate is given. We would, therefore, reject the plea that we should ignore these small bits of land especially as they will be used for the general good and will confer some benefit also upon those who will lose them.

¶318

¶319

¶320

We would accordingly allow the appeal with costs.

¶321

ORDER

¶322

Jn accord~.nce with the Opinion of the majority Civil Appeal D No. 1018 of !966 is dismissed without costs.

¶323

V. P. S.