# GRAM PANCHA YAT KAKRAN ' v. ADDL. DIRECTOR OF CONSOLIDATION AND ANR

- **Citation:** [1997] Supp. 4 S.C.R. 442
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1997-10-03
- **Case number:** Civil Appeal No. 7221of1997
- **Bench:** Sujatav.Manoharandd.P. Wadhwa
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/gram-pancha-yat-kakran-v-addl-director-of-consolidation-and-anr-15841
- **Pages:** 4

## Headnote

East Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation)
Act, 1948: Sections 19,20,21 and 42.
East Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation)
Rules, 1949:
Rule 16(ii) and 18-&cond Proviso-Scheme and repartition effected
under the Act-Challenge to-Limitation period for-Net entitlement of father
D of second respondent determined in consolidation proceedings in 1956-No
objection filed by father of second respondent during his lifetime-Application
for re-opening the partition made by second respondent in 1996-Application
allowed by Additional Director Consolidation-Writ preferred by appellant
Gram Panchayat dismissed-Hence this.appeal-Held, even if Rule 18 Wal" not
directly attracted application should have been filed within reasonable
E time-Jn this case inordinaie delay of 40 years ha!" not been explained
satisfactorily-Therefore application of second respondent was not
maintainable.
F
Jagtar Singh v. Additiof)al Director, Consolidation of Holdings,
Jalandar, AIR (1984) Pb. Haryana 216, referred.to.
Gram Panchayat, Village Kanonda v. Director, Consolidation of
Holdings, (1989) Suppl. 2 SCC 465, relied on.

## Text

A
B
c
GRAM PANCHA YAT KAKRAN
'
v.
ADDL. DIRECTOR OF CONSOLIDATION AND ANR.
OCTOBER 3, 1997
[SUJATAV.MANOHARANDD.P. WADHWA,JJ.]
East Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation)
Act, 1948: Sections 19,20,21 and 42.
East Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation)
Rules, 1949:
Rule 16(ii) and 18-&cond Proviso-Scheme and repartition effected
under the Act-Challenge to-Limitation period for-Net entitlement of father
D of second respondent determined in consolidation proceedings in 1956-No
objection filed by father of second respondent during his lifetime-Application
for re-opening the partition made by second respondent in 1996-Application
allowed by Additional Director Consolidation-Writ preferred by appellant
Gram Panchayat dismissed-Hence this.appeal-Held, even if Rule 18 Wal" not
directly attracted application should have been filed within reasonable
E time-Jn this case inordinaie delay of 40 years ha!" not been explained
satisfactorily-Therefore application of second respondent was not
maintainable.
F
Jagtar Singh v. Additiof)al Director, Consolidation of Holdings,
Jalandar, AIR (1984) Pb. Haryana 216, referred.to.
Gram Panchayat, Village Kanonda v. Director, Consolidation of
Holdings, (1989) Suppl. 2 SCC 465, relied on.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 7221of1997.
G
From the Judgment and Order dated 3.12.96 of the Punjab & Haryana
H
High Court in C. W.P. No. 10741 of 1996.
R.K. Kapoor, (S.K. Srivastava) for Anis Ahmad Khan for the Appellant.
A.V. Palli for Ms. Rekha Palli for the.Respondents.
442
+ -
\
l
GRAM PANCHA YAT KAKRAN v. ADDL DIRECTOR OF CONSOLIDATION
443
The following Order of the Court was delivered :
A
Special leave granted.
The appellant is Gram Panchayat~ of village Kakran. In consolidation
proceedings which took place in the year I 956 under the East Punjab Holdings
(Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation) Act 1948, the -net entitlement B
of Sangha Singh, father of the 2nd respondent was held to be of the value
of 152-I 4-9 pai and after making deduction of the value 3-4-3 pai for common
purposes, he was allotted 149-10-6 pai ofland. The Resolution No. 120 which_
is dated 16.6.56 is under Section 20 of the Act confirming the Consolidation
Scheme. Prior to such confirmation, under Section 19 the draft scheme is C
required to be published and objections have to be invited which have to be
considered within the time prescribed in section 19. Thereafter under section
20, after considering the objections, the final scheme has to be confirmed.
Under Section 21 .the Consolidation Officer is required to' carry out repartition
in accordance .with the scheme of consolidation in the manner set out therein. D
Under sub-section (2) of Section 21 any person aggrieved by repartition is
entitled to file a written objection within 15 days of the publication before the
consolidation officer. There are further provisions for appeal under section 21.
Under Section 42, a power is given to the State Government to call for, inter
alia, any scheme prepared or confirmed or repartition made by any officer
under the Act for the purpose of examining legality or propriety thereof. The E
Section provides that this can be done by the State Government at ariy time.
In the present case no objections under Section 21 appear to have been filed
by the father of the 2nd respondent who was then alive. However, after 40
years, in the year 1996 the 2nd respondent made an application under Section
42 for re-opening the repartition, on the ground that there should not have F
been any deduction from his land there should not have been any deduction
from his land for common purposes. This application has been entertained
and an order has been passed by Additional Director, Consolidation dated
23.5.96 directing that a portion of the Bachat land be given to the 2nd
respondent. The writ Petition filed by the present appellant-Gram Panchayat G
has been dismissed. Hence the present appeal has been filed before us.
Rule 18 of the East Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of
Fragmentation) Rules, 1949 prescribes that an application under Section 42
shall be made within six months of the date of the order against which it is
filed. Under the 2nd proviso to that Rule, there is a power to admit the H
• 444
SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1997] SUPP. 4 S.C.R.
A application after the period of limitation, which requires the applicant to
satisfy the authorities that he has sufficient cause for not making the
application within such period. The 2nd respondent has relied upon a decision
of the Full Bench of the Punjab & Haryana High Court in the case of Jagtar
Singh v. Additional director, Consolidation of Holdings, Jalandar, AIR
B (1984) Pb. & Haryana 216. In this decision the High Court had held that the
period prescribed under Rule 18 will apply only in respect of orders which are
passed nnder the Act and will have no application to a scheme which is
framed or repartition which has been effected under the Act.
This, however, cannot be understood as enabling the party which is
C aggrieved by the scheme or by repartition to make an application under
Section 42 after an unreasonably long lapse of time. Even where no period
of limitation is prescribed, the party aggrieved is required to move the
appropriate authority for relief within a reasonable time. In fact this Court in
the case of .Gram Panchayat, Village Kanonda v. Director, Consolidation of
D Holdings, [1989] Suppl. 2 sec 465 dealing with Rule 18 itself, said that when
no limitation is prescribed for an application under Section 42 dealing with
confirmation of the scheme, the application should be made within a reasonable
time and this question will have to be decided on the facts of each case. In
that case the delay of about 3 years and 8 months in filing an application
under Section 42 by the Panchayat was held to be not unreasonable. In the
E present case, however, the delay is of 40 years. We have tried to ascertain
from ihe 2nd respondent whether there is any explanation for this unreasonable
and inordinate delay. But no satisfactory explanation appears to be there for
this inordinate delay in making the application under Section 42. The only
contention which has been urged before us by respondent No. 2 relates to
p
the application of Rule 18 and the period of limitation prescribed therein not
being applicable where the challenge is to the consolidation scheme and
repartition. But even if Rule 18 is not directly attracted, an application which
is made after such inordinate delay ought not to have been entertained. It is
also contended by the 2nd ·respondent that the appellants have no locus
G
standi to challenge the order of the Additional Director of Consolidation in
a Writ Petition pecause the land in question continued to remain in the name
of the proprietory body. He drew our attention to Rule 16(ii) of the said Rules.
Rule 16(ii), however, quite clearly provides that the management of such land
shall be done by the Panchayat of the estate or estates concerned on behalf
of the Village Proprietory Party and the Panchayat shall have to utilise the
H income and the benefits of the estate or estates concerned. Even before
(
GRAM PAN CHAY AT KAKRAN v. ADDL. DIRECTOR OF CON SO LIDA TION
445
Additional Director, the appellants were made a party-respondent. This A
contention, therefore, has no merit.
The appeal is, therefore, allowed. The impugned order of the High Court
is set aside and the Writ Petition is allowed accordingly, No costs.
T.N.A.
Appeal allowed. B