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Showing contexts for: ropar in Dalwinder Singh vs State Of Punjab on 31 July, 2018Matching Fragments
4 of 21 It was further recorded that Gurmit Singh along with four other persons of the village moved an application before Deputy Commissioner, Ropar, which was marked to District Revenue Officer, P.S.Sodhi, who, while going beyond his jurisdiction and without getting the approval from Deputy Commissioner, Ropar and without bringing it to the notice of the Deputy Commissioner, sent the said application to the Sadar Kanungo on 11.8.1997. Sh.P.S.Sodhi marked this application to the Sadar Kanungo vide endorsement No.3366 dated 12.8.1997 and forwarded the same to Darshan Singh, Naib Tehsildar for necessary action and signed for Deputy Commissioner, Ropar. Darshan Singh, Naib Tehsildar Majri, in place of sending the letter back to the Deputy Commissioner, Ropar, sent the letter back to Sh.P.S.Sodhi, District Revenue Officer in view of letter No.1315-31 dated 3.3.1996 and sought the permission to partition the shamlat land and enter the mutation. All the suspects without getting permission of Deputy Commissioner, Ropar and without bringing it to the notice of the Deputy Commissioner, Ropar, in order to misappropriate the shamlat land, got order No.3461 dated 5.9.1997 issued for Deputy Commissioner, Ropar by misusing their official position. They have tampered with the record in conspiracy with each other to misappropriate government land. In this way, Sh.Darshan Singh, Naib Tehsildar, Jaswant Singh, Halqa Patwari, Shingara Singh, Patwari, P.S.Sodhi, District Revenue Officer and Ranjit Singh, Clerk, office of Additional Director (Consolidation), District Ropar have committed offences under Sections 467, 468, 471, 120-B IPC and Sections 13 (1) (d) read with Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
PW5/A Roshan Lal Verma proved the letter No.2/96/20/29 dated 21.6.1996 received from the Special Secretary to Government of Punjab, Rural Development and Panchayat Department, Chandigarh which was addressed to Deputy Commissioner, Ropar (Ex.PW5/A), vide which, the partition of the shamlat land was prohibited.
PW6 Dalip Singh is another crucial witness. He remained Sarpanch of village Mianpur Changer from 1993 to 1998. He stated that a firm Punjab Agro Hitech Private Limited Chandigarh Sector 35 sent some dealers to their village to contact the villagers to sell their land @ Rs.60,000/- per acre. They contacted some villagers to sell their land @ Rs.60,000/- per acre. They contacted Gurmit Singh son of Piara Singh to purchase the said land. Some other persons entered into agreement with those dealers. Said land was common land and was not partitioned. The villagers filed an application before Additional Director (Consolidation) Mohali for partition of the said land. 10 persons out of the villagers had not agreed to sell the land @ Rs.60,000/- per acre as they demanded Rs.one lakh per acre. Amrik Singh, the then Additional Director (Consolidation) asked the villagers that their case is not complete. Then counsel for the petitioner withdrew the said case with liberty to file fresh one. Therefore, Amrik Singh the then Additional Director (Consolidation) dismissed the said case as withdrawn. He further stated that there was one Clerk, namely, Ranjit Singh in the office of Director Consolidation. He asked the villagers not to file fresh suit as it will prolong for number of years and persuaded them to contact him for partition of the said land. The above said firm and 9 of 21 the villagers contacted him for the partition of the land. Ranjit Singh made an agreement regarding partition of the land and the mutations of the said land in their names. Therefore, no new case was filed for partition, as the bargaining took place with said Ranjit Singh. Ranjit Singh contacted the retired Kanungo Ajmer Singh and another retired Kanungo and paid them Rs.30,000/- each. Ranjit Singh was resident of Kharar. He handed over record to those Kanungos. Then in one month there was partition of the land. There was a rumor in the village that the land was partitioned by the Consolidation Department. He was not summoned. He being Sarpanch got a letter from the BDPO Ropar to explain what the Panchayat is doing regarding sale of shamlat land. He further stated that since the liability was sought to be fastened upon him, he took the revenue paper and filed case before DDPO, Ropar. DDPO, Ropar on 6.1.1998 decided the case in favour of the Gram Panchayat and restrained the villagers not to sell the land. He further stated that fake partition was got done by Ranjit Singh. The order was having 7-8 pages. Naib Tehsildar of village Majri block was registering sale deeds in spite of the stay order passed by DDPO. When he supplied the copy of the stay order to Tehsildar, Tehsildar told him that he is not registering the sale deeds. At that time, 42 sale deeds were already executed. He obtained the signatures of Naib Tehsildar on the copy of the stay order. He further stated that the villagers got sale deeds executed @ Rs.one lakh per acre. In fact, these were executed @ Rs.20,000/- per acre though the actual receipt was of Rs.one lakh per acre. He further stated that Amrik Singh has made a statement before Hon'ble High Court that he has not partitioned the land. He disclosed all the facts to the Vigilance Bureau. Then the then Sarpanch Tarlochan Singh called all 140 persons of the 10 of 21 village and asked them to get themselves bailed out. Sarpanch collected Rs.80,000/- to get them bailed out, out of which, he paid Rs.30,000/- to the Advocate and Rs.30,000/- were given as illegal gratification to DSP Vigilance Malwinder Singh Sidhu for not challenging the bails of said 140 persons who had sold their land. Defaulting persons were not been challaned by the Vigilance Department. All the said 140 persons are liable to be challaned but they have not been challaned. In cross examination, he stated that the persons who have been challaned are innocent.
PW22 Harinder Singh, Office Kanungo, Chamkaur Sahib proved the service books of Dalwinder Singh and Shamsher Singh accused.
PW23 Rama Kant Clerk DDPO Office, Ropar produced the copy of the order dated 6.1.1989 passed by Kuldip Singh the then DDPO Ropar, vide which, land was restored to Gram Panchayat.
PW24 Jasbir Singh, Junior Assistant, office of Deputy Commissioner, Ropar and PW25 Rajanpaul, Clerk office of Tehsildar, Mohali, proved the sanction for prosecution of some of the accused.
Therefore, application was filed in the office of Deputy Commissioner, Ropar and a request was made that the application should be sent to the concerned authorities for entering the mutations. It also comes out that the said application was presented by Dalwinder Singh, Sadar Kanungo before the then Superintendent Revenue of office of the Deputy Commissioner, Tarlochan Singh (PW9), who made an endorsement No.3366 dated 12.8.1997 forwarding the said application to Naib Tehsildar Majri for entering the mutation in accordance with law. Tarlochan Singh did not bring the said application to the notice of the Deputy Commissioner that the shamlat land of the village is being partitioned and that the government has already issued a letter dated 9.4.1997 i.e. before the filing of the said application, wherein such fraud was brought to the notice of all the Deputy Commissioners, including Deputy Commissioner, Ropar. It was also not brought to the notice of the Deputy Commissioner that Additional 15 of 21 Director (Consolidation) has no power to partition the shamlat land. Therefore, even if an application was filed, it was the duty of Tarlochan Singh, the then Superintendent Revenue of the office of Deputy Commissioner, Ropar, to bring it to notice of the Deputy Commissioner for appropriate orders. However, without bringing it to the notice of the Deputy Commissioner, he simply forwarded the application, without any authority, to Naib Tehsildar, Majri. It comes out that Naib Tehsildar, Majri did not act upon that application and vide endorsement No.768 dated 29.8.1997 returned the same to the District Revenue Officer, bringing it to his notice a letter No.1315-31 dated 8.7.1996, vide which, there is a ban regarding partition of the shamlat land. It was also brought to his notice that the application is for partition of shamlat land and the photostate copies of the order of the Additional Director Consolidation, Punjab is attached. Therefore, permission be granted to enter the mutation. Sh.P.S.Sodhi, who was then District Revenue Officer, did not bring it to the notice of Deputy Commissioner and again sent the same to Naib Tehsildar, Majri with endorsement No.3461 dated 5.9.1997, stating that the photostate copy of the order of the Additional Director (Consolidation) has not been received, even then he directed Naib Tehsildar that shareholders in village Mianpur Changer should be heard and mutation be entered as per rules. This time Naib Tehsildar, Majri forwarded the same with his endorsement to Field Kanungo, namely, Jaswant Singh, Khijrabad on 11.9.1997, who then forwarded the same to Shamsher Singh, Halqa Patwari. Accordingly, some of the mutations were sanctioned. However, when the Sapranch of the village, namely, Dalip Singh (PW6) came to know about the same, he moved an application before DDPO, Ropar, who stayed the said order and 16 of 21 got the possession delivered back to the Gram Panchayat.