In a significant development in the decades-old surplus land case of late Sardar Bhagwant Singh, Ambala Divisional Commissioner Sanjeev Verma has ordered the cancellation of mutations of 810 acres, five kanals and seven marlas of land in favour of private owners across seven villages in Panchkula district.
The land is located in Barwala, Jalouli, Bir Babupur, Bir Firozari, Bharali, Fatehpur Viraan and Sangrana villages. Several influential and high-profile individuals are believed to be among the present landowners.
Bhagwant Singh, who died in 1960, owned 1,394 acres, one kanal and three marlas in these villages. While his seven legal heirs were entitled to succeed to his estate, proceedings regarding determination of permissible and surplus land have continued for nearly seven decades. Under the law, surplus land is required to vest in the state government.
During proceedings before the Divisional Commissioner, the Tehsildar reported that 583 acres, three kanals and 16 marlas had already been mutated in the name of the state government. The remaining 810 acres, five kanals and seven marlas, however, stood mutated in the names of private landowners.
In an order dated May 26, Verma held that the entire land vested in the state government under Section 12(3) of the Haryana Ceiling on Land Holding Act, 1972. He directed that mutations sanctioned in favour of private owners be cancelled and the entire land be mutated in the name of the state government.
The Commissioner also directed the Collector Agrarian, Panchkula, to re-examine the entire matter after hearing all stakeholders and decide it within two months. The SDM, Panchkula, functions as the Collector Agrarian.
The 810-acre parcel is currently estimated to be worth over Rs 2,500 crore, while the entire 1,394-acre estate is valued at nearly Rs 4,200 crore.
The dispute has witnessed a series of legal proceedings over the years. On March 31, 2020, the Collector Agrarian, Panchkula, allotted 30 “standard acres” of land to each of Bhagwant Singh’s legal heirs and observed that purchasers who acquired land after 1958 were not entitled to relief. However, the then Ambala Divisional Commissioner set aside the order and remanded the matter back to the Collector.
Subsequently, the Financial Commissioner, Revenue, also remanded the case in September 2014, directing the Collector to decide it in accordance with a Punjab and Haryana High Court order of December 11, 1992. The High Court had held that the status of Bhagwant Singh’s holdings should be assessed with reference to April 15, 1953, the date relevant to the enforcement of the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953.
The matter again reached the High Court through a writ petition filed in 2017. On February 24, 2023, Justice Vinod S Bhardwaj directed the Collector Agrarian to conclude the proceedings expeditiously, preferably within one year.
Meanwhile, Asha Singh, one of Bhagwant Singh’s legal heirs, sought correction of revenue records in March 2023. Acting on subsequent directions, the Collector Agrarian initially ordered corrections in April 2023 but later withdrew the order in January 2024 and directed that any changes already made be reversed.
Challenging this reversal, Asha Singh approached the Ambala Divisional Commissioner, who granted a stay on March 6, 2024. The latest order has now restored the position that the entire land vests in the state government pending fresh adjudication.
Counsel appearing for some purchasers argued that their names had been reflected in revenue records for nearly two decades. They contended that land sold by the original landowner should be counted towards the landowner’s permissible area. However, the Commissioner observed that such sales could not be used to reduce the surplus area liable to vest in the state.
