' Through this constitutional petition, Muhammad Din and three others, want this Court to declare the order, dated 16-2-1977 of A.C./Deputy Settlement Commissioner (L), Okara to be without lawful authority and of no legal effect.
2. The petitioners' case is that Ali Bakhsh, his predecessor was a claimant displaced person. The disputed land was allotted and confirmed to him in Mauza Dilbagh Rai, Tehsil Okara against his verified claim. Thereafter, mutation of inheritance was sanctioned in favour of the petitioners.
Karam Ilahi and 5 others, filed Mukhbari application against allotment in favour of their predecessor before the Deputy Settlement Commissioner on 20-9-1976 impleading Abdul Majid and Ali Bakhsh as respondents. On this the Deputy Settlement Commissioner respondent No,2 proceeded ex parte against All Bakhsh and Abdul Majid and, vide impugned order, dated 16-2-1977 cancelled the allotment from the name of All Bakhsh and also refused to transfer the land to Mukhbars on the ground that the application filed by them could not be treated as having been filed before 30-6-1974, the deadline of filing such application.
3. The learned counsel for the petitioners mainly contended that since the Mukhbari application in pursuance of which the land was cancelled from the name of Ali Bakhsh was not filed before 30-6- 1974 as held by the Deputy Settlement Commissioner respondent No,2 himself, therefore, the Deputy Settlement Commissioner had no authority to entertain application, dated 20-9-1976 and pass the impugned order. The learned counsel for the Settlement Department has not been able to controvert him.
4. I have considered the submissions made by the learned counsel for the parties with care. I find that according to the findings of the Deputy Settlement Commissioner, there was no proof of the filing of any earlier application by the Mukhbars and that the application in which the impugned order has been passed was not a pending proceedings on 30-6-1974, therefore, the Deputy Settlement Commissioner had no A authority to entertain application after 30-6-1974 and to cancel the allotment made in favour of All Bakhsh. It is well-settled that the Settlement Authorities cannot re-open proceedings on the Mukhbari application filed after the repeal of the evacuee laws.
5. For what has been said above, the impugned order is declared to have been passed without lawful authority and is of no legal effect. Leaving the parties to bear their own costs, the petition is accepted.