Piara Singh vs Bahadur Singh

S.R. Bunger, F.C.

The present is an appeal under Section 13 of the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887, against the order dated 10th June, 1997, passed by the Commissioner, Patiala Division, Patiala, in a case of Harijan Lambardari, as per which, he had accepted the appeal of the respondents against the order dated 911997, passed by the District Collector, Fatehgarh Sahib; and, had remanded the case to the District Collector, Fatehgarh Sahib with a direction, that, "fresh proclamation be made in the village, so as to allow the appellants (the present respondents) to apply for the post of Harijan Lambardar before finalising the claim of any candidate to be considered for the appointment as Lambardar."

The brief facts of this case are, that, with a view to fillup the vacancy of a Harijan Lambardar in Village Salana Jeon Singh Wala, Tehsil Amloh, District Fatehgarh Sahib, casued with the death of the previous Lambardar Hari Singh, the District Collector, Fatehgarh Sahib had ordered the appointment of Piara Singh son of Hazura Singh as Harijan Lambardar, the sole applicant for the post, after considering his claim in the light of the provisions of Rule 19B(i) of the Punjab Land Revenue Rules, 1909. Against this order, the present respondents Bahadur Singh, etc., had filed an appeal before the Commissioner, Patiala Division, Patiala, who had accepted the same vide his order dated 10th June, 1997, and had set aside the order passed by the District Collector and had further remanded the case to the District Collector, Fatehgarh Sahib. Aggrieved by this order, Piara Singh has filed the present appeal on the grounds stated in the appeal dated 2171997.

The learned Counsel for both sides have been heard. After careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case, I am of the view, that, the present appeal has a merit, and the same deservers to be accepted; and, the order passed by the learned Commissioner, Patiala Division, Patiala, needs to be set aside.

At the outset, it may be pointed out, that, the District Collector, Fategarh Sahib, as per her order dated 911997, had rightly ordered the appointment of Piara Singh son of Hazura Singh as Harijan Lambardar of the said village, after following the prescribed procedure, and her order does not suffer from any illegality or irregularity, which may call for interference. As is clear from the record, due proclamation was made in the village for inviting applications from the desirous candidates, to fillup the vacancy of a Harijan Lambardar, and this proclamation was actually made by the village ChowkidarChand Singh, on 19101996; and this fact has been recorded by the Halqa Patwari and has been certified by Amar Singh, Lambardar; Hakam Singh, Sarpanch and Jang Singh, Panch of the said village. Within the stipulated period, only Piara Singh son of Hazura Singh had submitted his application. The name of Piara Singh was recommended for his appointment as Harijan Lambardar by the Assistant Collector, II Grade, Amloh, as well as by the Assistant Collector, 1st Grade, Amloh. S/Sh. Hakam Singh, Sarpanch; Sarwan Singh, Lambardar; and Kesar Singh Panch, of village Salana Jeon Singh Wala, in their written statement had supported the claim of Piara Singh.

However, in the appeal filed by the respondentsBahadur Singh, etc., the learned Commissioner, Patiala Division, Patiala, had set aside the order passed by the District Collector, primarily on the grounds, that, there was undue haste in the appointment of Piara Singh as Lambardar, since the whole procedure was completed in about 4 months; that, a large number of residents of the village had given in writing, that, no proclamation was made in the village for inviting applications to fillup the vacancy; and, even (the respondent No. 1) Bahadur Singh son of the previous deceased Lambardar Hari Singh, was kept in dark about the proclamation."

But, I am afraid, the reasons advanced by the learned Commissioner for setting aside the order passed by the District Collector are totally untenable. Para 323A of the Punjab Land Administration Manual enjoins, that, "in view of the importance of the duties performed by village headmen, it is imperative that when a post falls vacant, it should be filled as quickly as possible." As such, the learned Commissioner has wrongly and unjustifiably observed, that, by appointing Piara Singh as Harijan Lambardar, after completing the entire process within a period of four months, the District Collector had shown undue haste.

Perusal of the record shows, that, the due proclamation was made in the village for inviting applications; and, the factum of proclamation having been made in the village, has been duly verified by the village Sarpanch, a Lambardar and by a Panch. If some residents of the village have submitted in writing before the learned Commissioner, that, no proclamation was made; apparently, this is unfounded, and appears to be just an afterthought of these people, who may be unhappy with the appointment of Piara Singh as lambardar. In view of the documentary evidence, the assertion of these people does not deserve to be given any serious thought, and their plea merits to be rejected and ignored.

Further, one may even consider this as very amusing, that, even the son of the deceased lambardar was not aware of the proclamation made in the village. Under no known law, the sons of the deceased Lambardar are required to be specifically informed about the proclamation made in the village, for inviting applications. The proclamation is made in the village for the public in rem; and, if any of the residents does not take notice of it or feigns ignorance about it, then, nobody can help it. As such, the learned Commissioner seems to have been carried away by the extraneous considerations, while setting aside the just and appropriate order passed by the District Collector.

Moreover, it is a settled proposition of law, that, the Collector''s choice in the matter of appointment of a village Lambardar is not to be disturbed, unless and until, the Collector''s order is illegal or perverse. In the instant case, no illegality or perversity is discernible in the Collector''s order; as such, the Collector''s order did not merit to disturbed.

In view of above discussion, I am of the considered view, that, the appellant Piara Singh was rightly appointed as Harijan Lambardar of village Salana Jeon Singh Wala, by the District Collector, Fatehgarh Sahib; and the learned Commissioner, Patiala Division, Patiala had wrongly set aside the order passed by her, without any substantial reasons, through an uncalled for order. In the light of the above, the present appeal is accepted; the order dated 10th June, 1997, passed by the Commissioner, Patiala Division, Patiala is set aside; and the order dated 911997, passed by the District Collector, Fatehgarh Sahib is hereby upheld and confirmed.