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The Special Leave Petition is dismissed."

Another set of residents, namely, Chunni Lal and others filed Civil Writ Petition No.7263 of 1997, challenging order dated 03.03.1996, passed by the Additional Director Consolidation, Punjab, which was also dismissed on 10.02.1998 and the following order as passed:-

"Challenge in this writ petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India is to the order dated 3.6.1996 Annexure P.6, passed by the Addl. Director Consolidation of Holdings at the instance of some of the tenants allegedly in possession of a part of the land in dispute. By the impugned order the Addl. Director Consolidation of Holdings came to the conclusion that there was a document of transfer of title with the respondent-gram panchayat as required by law and thus the mutation sanctioned in its favour is illegal, null and void and the same has no effect on the rights of the petitioner therein. Consequently, the land bearing khewat no.77 was ordered to be partitioned amongst the right holders of the village. Hence this petition.

The State of Punjab is an agrarian State, dependent upon agriculture, for its economic and social well being. Land, particularly agrarian land, is its most valuable but much neglected natural asset/resource of the State of Punjab.

Rights in land both possessory and proprietary were crystalised through a process called settlement of land holdings that commenced in the 1840s and eventually lead to enactment of the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887. The said enactment provides for demarcation of each village or a contiguous group of villages into a separate revenue estate. A revenue estate comprises of private agricultural land, besides common lands, called "Shamilat Deh" and land called "Abadi Deh". The private agricultural land obviously vests in individual proprietors. The common land was kept apart for common use and was called "Shamilat Deh". The proprietary and possessory rights in "Shamilat Deh", vested, in absolute terms, in proprietors. The purpose for which a particular parcel of "Shamilat Deh" could be used, the rights of proprietors and non-proprietors therein were set out, in the "Sharat Wazib-ul-arz" (a document that records the bye-laws of a revenue estate) also called a village administration paper. A proprietor was absolute owner of his share in "Shamilat Deh", held in common with other proprietors and could, depending upon rights recorded in the "Sharat Wazib-ul-arz", cultivate, sell, mortgage, lease and even partition the common land. The proprietors had a right to exclude non-proprietors from user of this land. The share holding of a proprietor was calculated as per his proprietary land holdings or the land revenue paid or the numbers of "ploughs" etc. and was represented by expression like "Hasab Rasad Paimana Malkiat", "Hasab Rasad Raqba Khewat", "Hissa Sola (16), Hasaab Rasad Malguzari etc. that generally followed the words "Shamilat Deh". The cultivated land in "Shamilat Deh" was cultivated by proprietors in accordance with their share holdings. Large tracts of land were left for pastures called "Charagah" or "Charand". The "Shamilat Deh" of a revenue estate was used for common purposes like pasture (Charand), Johar (pond) or Chappar, streets paths, cremation grounds, school, chaupals etc., but more often than not its user was confined to proprietors. The non-proprietors, though, an integral part of agrarian societies, were excluded from ownership and in many villages from the user of common land.

Another variety of common land is called "Shamilat Taraf, Shamilat Patti, Pana or Thola", which vests in members of the "Taraf, Patti, Pana or Thola" and not in the entire proprietary body of a village.

At this stage, it would be necessary to clarify that, though, agricultural land of a revenue estate, was demarcated into khewats, khataunis and khasra numbers, the land that fell within the "Lal Lakir"

and was called "Abadi Deh" (the residential area of a revenue estate) was, a "no mans land", for a revenue officer. A revenue officer did not venture into the "Abadi Deh" situated within the "Lal Lakir", or demarcate khewats, khatonies or khasra numbers. A single khewat, khatoni and khasra number was allotted to the "Abadi Deh". The normal rule of ownership of land within "Abadi Deh" was and is even today that ownership, follows possession. However, paths, ponds, cremation grounds, graveyards, streets, chaupals, etc., used for common purposes by residents whether located within or outside the "Abadi Deh" were assigned separate numbers and as they were used for common purposes and were treated as "Shamilat Deh".