NAWAB DIN and another vs SHABBIR HUSSAIN and others
This matter concerns two appeals challenging a High Court judgment that upheld the cancellation of temporary land allotments granted to Jammu & Kashmir refugees. The core legal question was whether the Chief Settlement Commissioner possessed the jurisdiction to cancel or resume such temporary allotments under the Displaced Persons (Land Settlement) Act, 1958. The Supreme Court, referencing its findings in connected Civil Appeals Nos. 274 and 275 of 1978, held that temporary allotments of land to Jammu & Kashmir refugees do not constitute an "allotment" within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Displaced Persons (Land Settlement) Act, 1958. Consequently, such lands are excluded from the compensation pool, rendering the Chief Settlement Commissioner without jurisdiction to cancel or resume them under sections 10, 11, and 14 of the Act. The Court set aside the High Court's judgment and the cancellation orders, thereby restoring the original temporary allotments. The key principle established is that temporary allotments to Jammu & Kashmir refugees are outside the scope of the Displaced Persons (Land Settlement) Act, 1958, and thus immune to cancellation by settlement authorities.
- Does a temporary allotment of land to Jammu & Kashmir refugees constitute an allotment under the Displaced Persons (Land Settlement) Act, 1958?
- Are temporary allotments of land to Jammu & Kashmir refugees part of the compensation pool under the Displaced Persons (Land Settlement) Act, 1958?
- Does the Chief Settlement Commissioner have the jurisdiction to cancel temporary allotments of land held by Jammu & Kashmir refugees?
- Section 2(1), Displaced Persons (Land Settlement) Act 1958
- Section 10, Displaced Persons (Land Settlement) Act 1958
- Section 11, Displaced Persons (Land Settlement) Act 1958
- Section 14, Displaced Persons (Land Settlement) Act 1958
1. ' NASIM HASAN SHAH, J.---These two appeals are directed against a common order passed by a learned Single Judge of the High Court on 21-11-1988 and are, therefore, being disposed of together.
2. ' The facts, which form the background in brief, are that the appellants/their predecessors in the two appeals were temporarily allotted land as Jammu & Kashmir refugees but these allotments were cancelled on 11-51976 by the delegate of the Chief Settlement Commissioner in pursuance of Mukhbari application submitted under section 14 read with sections 10 and 11 of the Displaced Persons (Land Settlement) Act, 1958 which were submitted by the Mukhbars allegedly on 20-3-1974.
3. The said orders were challenged by the appellants through writ petitions but the same were dismissed by the High Court vide judgment dated 21-11-1988, impugned herein.
4. Leave was granted in these cases on the ground that the question involved herein was similar to the questions involved in Civil Appeals Nos.274 and 275 of 1978 and it is with which appeals these two appeals have been heard.
5. ' By our detailed judgment passed in Civil Appeals Nos.274 and 275 of 1978 we have found that the temporary allotment of land to Jammu & Kashmir refugees did not amount to "allotment" of land within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Displaced Persons (Land Settlement) Act and that such allotments were excluded from the compensation pool. Accordingly, the Chief Settlement Commissioner had no jurisdiction to cancel or resume such land under section 14 read with sections 10 and 11 of the Displaced Persons (Land Settlement) Act. These findings are fully applicable in the facts and circumstances of these appeals as well.
6. ' The result is that these appeals must also succeed and are allowed. The orders dated 11-5-1976 passed by the delegate of the Chief Settlement Commissioner and upheld by the High Court, vide impugned judgment dated 21-11-1988, are hereby set aside. Resultantly, the orders of temporary allotment of the land passed in favour of the appellants are maintained.
7. ' The parties are left to bear their own costs.