' Through filing of this Constitutional petition it has been prayed that the order dated 13-2-1964 passed by Collector Sargodha, respondent No,1, be declared to have been passed without lawful authority and is of no legal effect.
2. Briefly the relevant facts are that Nasir Ahmad Khan, petitioner, was allotted Killa No, 17 of Squaie No, 12 and Mikis Nos. 9 to 12 and 18 to 23 of Square No,13 situate in Chak No, 131/S.B., tehsil and district Sargodha, under Grow More Food Scheme of 1956 by the Colony Assistant/Collector, Sargodha, vide order dated 20-1-1959. Subsequently, the Board of Revenue, Punjab, issued instructions under memo. No,4826-62/4419-S(G)III, dated 22-10-1962 to the effect that the land allotted under Grow More Food Scheme be sold to such allotters whose term of lease expires in Rabi, 1962, or subsequent thereto. The learned Collector while scrutinizing the case of the petitioner found that because his term of lease had expired on 17-11-1961 i.e,, before Rabi, 1962, therefore, the lessee (petitioner) was not entitled to acquire the proprietary rights in the said land and directed the field staff to initiate proceedings for illicit cultivation against him, vide order dated 13-2-1964. Feeling aggrieved the petitioner filed the instant writ petition on the grounds that the impugned order was passed at his back and thus rule of natural justice had been violated and that the impugned order has also been passed in violation of the relevant law as interpreted in Writ Petition No,117 of 1964, decided on 21-12-1964.
3. The learned Judges while admitting this petition to regular hearing had directed that it should be heard along with Writ Petitions Nos.128 and 239 of 1968. However, it so happened that this petition got detached from the two aforesaid writ petitions and remained pending while the other writ petitions were disposed of by my learned brother Gul Zarin Kiani, 3., on 14-5-1984, who is not presently available at this Bench and is functioning at Multan Bench of the Lahore High Court, therefore, I am proceeding to dispose of this matter.
4. I have heard learned counsel for the petitioner and have also gone through the judgment delivered in the connected writ petition (W.P. No, 239 of 1968). Nobody has appeared for the respondents.
5. There is no denying the fact that the same question of facts and law involved in the aforesaid two writ petitions are involved in the petition in hand. It appears from the judgment delivered in Writ Petition No,239 of 1968 that learned Assistant Advocate-General who represented respondents Nos.1 to 3 stated that Government of the Punjab issued new instructions covering the subject relating to grant of proprietary rights to the allotters of land under Grow More Food Scheme and that vide letter No,1488-71/1271-CL-Ill, Lahore, dated 26-4-1971, Government of the Punjab has decided to grant proprietary rights to the allotted of land under Grow More Food Scheme subject to the conditions of their having fulfilled the terms and conditions of the grant and that the target dates fixed earlier in various memoranda have since been superseded, therefore, in view of the changed policy it was stated that the respondents had no objection if the writ petitions were accepted and the cases remanded for fresh decision in the light of the latest instructions issued by the Government of Punjab in this behalf.
6. In view of the above narrated stand of respondent and the fact that the impugned order was passed at the back of the petitioner in violation of the rule of natural justice, I feel disposed to accept this petition, set aside the order of Collector Sargodha dated 20-1-1959 as having been passed without lawful authority and remand this case to the Collector Sargodha for decision afresh in the light of instructions issued in letter No,1488-71/1271-CL-Ill, dated 26-4-1971. In the peculiar circumstances of the case, the parties are left to bear their own costs.