LAJJA RAM & ORS.versusRATI CHAND & ORS. ETC

                [2023] 16 S.C.R. 1525 : 2023 INSC 1091



                            CASE DETAILS
                          LAJJA RAM & ORS.
                                     v.
                      RATI CHAND & ORS. ETC
                   (Civil Appeal Nos. 2835-2836/2011)
                          NOVEMBER 09, 2023
         [HRISHIKESH ROY AND SANJAY KAROL, JJ.]
                             HEADNOTES
      Issue for Consideration: Nature and extent of a bhondedar’s right
over a shamlatdeh property (land reserved & used for common purpose in
villages) and whether the bhondedar can exercise ownership rights over
the granted land.
      Customary Practice – Bhondedar – Bhondedar’s right over a
shamlatdeh land – Nature and extent – Punjab Village Common
Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961 – Punjab Mujara Act, 1887 – Punjab
Occupancy Tenants (Vesting of Proprietary Rights) Act, 1953 – In an
earlier proceeding for declaration and occupancy rights before Asst.
Collector against the Gram Panchayat, Defendant No.1 was held
entitled to hereditary rights in view of the longstanding service of his
ancestors as mujara (tenants) relating to the suit land-shamlatdeh land –
Defendant No.1 sold the shamlatdeh land to appellants-Defendant nos.2-
5 – Suit filed by Respondents (inhabitants of the village & biswedars-
proprietors) for declaration, possession & injunction – Dismissed by
Trial Court – First Appellate Court reversed the said order and decreed
the Respondents’ suit, declaring the Defendant No.1 as only a bhondedar
but not the owner of the shamlatdeh land and annulling the sale deeds
executed in favour of the appellants – Order upheld by High Court:
      Held: The term ‘bhondedar’ has no statutory or legislative definition
– But over a period of time, the term is equated with limited grant of land
for service to be rendered by the grantee – It is a customary practice in the
Punjab region (present-day areas comprising largely in the states of Punjab
& Haryana) – A bhondedar has only limited right and should he fail to carry
                                   1525
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out his assigned duties, even this limited right becomes unavailable – The
very nature of the tenure(s) does not bestow upon the holder, any right to
alienate the granted land – All alienations made by the limited holder of
property, would be manifestly void because a bhondedar does not possess
title or ownership right of the property granted to him, as a bhonda – Dfdt.
No.1 held conditional and limited possessory rights as a bhondedar,
subject to services being rendered towards the village community – Such
limited right remained unaffected and unaltered as long as the bhondedar
fulfilled their service obligations toward the village – However, the Dfdt.
No.1 not only ceased to render the required services but also relocated to a
different place soon after unauthorisedly selling the suit land to appellants –
Consequently, the bhondedar can have no legitimate claim whatsoever, over
the suit land – When the services were ceased to be rendered towards the
management, maintenance and upkeep of the shamlatdeh land, the limited
grant so made to the bhondedar, by the proprietors-biswedars, in lieu of
such services, extinguished – High Court also found that the decision in the
previous proceeding cannot extinguish the rights of the plaintiffs and the
Gram Panchayat in the suit because the biswedars were unaware of the Asst.
Collector’s order – As soon as they learnt of such decree in Dfdt. No.1’s
favour against the Gram Panchayat, they filed Suit– High Court rightly held
that the suit was filed within time – Bhondedar could not have transferred
his limited possessory rights or alienated the said property to the Appellants
who in turn, as transferees, could not have derived any legal right over the
suit land either – High Court’s decision in favour of the plaintiffs and the
Gram Panchayat consistent with the opinion of this Court. [Paras10, 14,
17, 20, 23, 24]
     Land Laws – Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act,
1961 – Inter-play of claims over shamlatdeh category land vis-à-vis
the bhondedar, the Gram Panchayat and the proprietors of such land:
      Held: The ownership to such lands rested in proportion to other lands
of the village – For instance, an individual owning some land in the village
also possessed additional proprietary rights and interest over shamlatdeh
lands – However, with the enactment of the 1961 Act, the nature of vesting of
such lands with the village community was somewhat altered – While such
      LAJJA RAM & ORS. v. RATI CHAND & ORS. ETC                           1527


lands owned by the proprietors came to be vested in the Gram Panchayat,
the s.4 of the 1961 Act noted certain important exceptions – The existing
rights, title or interest of persons, who though not entered as occupancy
tenants in the revenue records are accorded a similar status by custom like
a bhondedar, dholidar, etc. and those would not be affected by such vesting
of lands in the Gram Panchayat. [Paras 15, 16]
     Words and Phrases – ‘Bhondedar’ – Characteristic features:
      Held: A ‘bhondedar’ renders secular services towards the village
community as well as the biswedars (proprietors) – He is granted a parcel
of land rent-free, within a village by the biswedars in lieu of payment for
services rendered, and a bhondedar can be ejected from such piece of land on
failure to render assigned services or fulfil conditions of such grant. [Para 11]
     Words and Phrases – ‘bhonda’; ‘dholi’ – Discussed. [Para 10]
       LIST OF CITATIONS AND OTHER REFERENCES
     Gram Panchayat of Village Jamalpur vs. Malwinder Singh, [1985] 2
Suppl. SCR 28: (1985) 3 SCC 661; State of Haryana vs. Jai Singh & Ors.:
2022 SCC OnLine SC 418 – referred to.
     Sewa Ram vs. Udegir: 1921 SCC OnLine Lah 237 – referred to.
       OTHER CASE DETAILS INCLUDING IMPUGNED
              ORDER AND APPEARANCES
     CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal Nos. 2835-2836
of 2011.
     From the Judgment and Order dated 12.08.2009 of the High Court of
Punjab & Haryana at Chandigarh in CA No.17 of 2003, RSA Nos.2552 of
2008 and 4041 of 2007.
     Appearances:
    Shubham Seth, Anuj Panwar, Nikilesh Ramachandran, Sujit Kumar
Mishra, Advs. for the Appellants.
     Anjani Kumar Mishra, Adv. for the Respondents.
1528         SUPREME COURT REPORTS                         [2023] 16 S.C.R.



       JUDGMENT / ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT
                                  ORDER
      1. Heard Mr. Shubham Seth, the learned counsel appearing for the
appellants. Also, heard Mr. Sujit Kumar Mishra, learned counsel appearing
for the respondents.
      2. The present appeals have been preferred challenging the judgement
and order dated 12.08.2009 in RSAs No. 4041/2007 & 2552/2008, passed by
the High Court of Punjab & Haryana. Under the impugned order, the High
Court upheld the decision dated 15.10.2007 of the Additional District Judge,
Faridabad (‘First Appellate Court’), reversing the Civil Judge (Jr. Division),
Palwal (‘Trial Court’) order dated 28.02.2003, and thereby, decreed the
Respondents’ suit and declared Narain Dass (Defendant No. 1/Dfdt. 1) as
only a bhondedar but not the owner of the shamlatdeh land (land reserved
& used for common purpose in villages). It was held that the Dfdt. No. 1
had been granted limited possessory rights, to the shamlatdeh land, in lieu
of service rendered to the village temple and when he, as the bhondedar,
ceased to render such service, the land would automatically revert back to
the common village pool.
      3. In the year 1982, Narain Dass (Dfdt. No. 1) initiated an earlier
proceeding for declaration and occupancy rights, before Asst. Collector
(Grade-I), Faridabad against the Gram Panchayat, Palwal. The Asst.
Collector while disposing the said proceeding observed in the order dated
06.03.1986 that Narain Dass was entitled to hereditary rights, under
Sections 5 & 8 of the Punjab Mujara Act, 1887 (also referred to as the
Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887) and the Punjab Occupancy Tenants (Vesting
of Proprietary Rights) Act, 1953.This arises from the longstanding service
of Narain Dass’ ancestors as mujaras (tenants) relating to the shamlatdeh
land, for over 60 years. Additionally, it was held that the land did not vest
in the Gram Panchayat.
     4. Subsequently, Narain Dass sold the shamlatdeh land to Lajja Ram
& his sons (Defendant Nos. 2-5) through multiple sale deeds on 24.07.1987,
31.08.1987 and 07.06.1988, respectively.
      LAJJA RAM & ORS. v. RATI CHAND & ORS. ETC                          1529


       5. Aggrieved by the above alienation of the common village land,
the inhabitants of the village & biswedars (proprietors) of the land
(‘Respondents’) filed the Suit No. 878/1996 for declaration, possession &
injunction before the Civil Judge (Jr.), Palwal. However, the Trial Court
dismissed the suit on 28.02.2003 as non-maintainable on the grounds that
it was time-barred and also that the plaintiffs had no locus standi to file the
suit. It was also held that the sale deeds transferring ownership rights from
Narain Dass (Dfdt. 1) to Lajja Ram & sons (Dfdts. 2-5) were valid. The Court
noted that Narain Dass, while serving as the bhondedar of the shamlatdeh
land, continued to provide service to the landlord, and such service would
be considered equivalent to payment of rent, thereby making Narain Dass
also a tenant of the suit land.
      6. Displeased with the Trial Court’s decision favouring Dfdt. No. 1,
the Respondents approached the Additional District Judge, Faridabad by
filing the Civil Appeal No. 17 on 01.04.2003. Simultaneously, Respondents
(Defendant Nos. 5-12) also filed a separate Civil Appeal No. 25. The First
Appellate Court with the common judgment dated 15.10.2007 decreed the
suit for declaration, injunction, and possession of land measuring 33 kanals
5 marlas. Simultaneously, the Court negated Narain Dass’ (Dfdt. 1) claim,
since he had limited right and was not competent to alienate the suit property.
The Court also found that Dfdt. 1 had taken recourse to self-contradictory
pleas asserting ownership rights as well as occupancy rights. Thus, the
annulment of sale deeds to Dfdts No. 2-5 with a directive to restore the suit
land possession to the common village pool was ordered.
      7. The transferee Lajja Ram & sons (Dfdts. No. 2-5) then filed the
RSA No. 4041 of 2007 and RSA No. 2552 of 2008 before the High Court.
In the impugned order dated 12.08.2009, the High Court noted that the prior
decree granted by the Asst. Collector against the Gram Panchayat could
not have been used against the biswedars of the village given their absence
as parties in the previous proceedings. Additionally, it was found that the
ownership of the shamlatdeh land did not vest with the Gram Panchayat.
      8. The High Court particularly noted that Narain Dass had no title
or authority to sell the suit land to Dfdts. No. 2-5. The sale, executed by
an incompetent party without a valid title, was deemed by the High Court
as insufficient to confer valid title to Dfdts. No. 2-5. Moreover, the sale
1530          SUPREME COURT REPORTS                             [2023] 16 S.C.R.


by a vendor without any title could be disregarded even in a collateral
proceeding, i.e., the present suit by the proprietors. The High Court deemed
the later suit to be within the period of limitation since reckoning time
would not commence from the date of sale deed’s registration but from
the date of knowledge of the sales, by the biswedars. Consequently, the
High Court upheld the First Appellate Court’s decision decreeing the
suit against Dfdts. No. 2-5, and dismissed the second appeal under the
impugned judgment.
     9. In order to adjudicate the present lis, we need to briefly refer to the
concept of a bhondedar, and the nature & extent of rights that a bhondedar
exercises with respect to shamlatdeh lands.
      10. The term ‘bhondedar’ has no statutory or legislative definition.
But over a period of time, the term is equated with limited grant of land
for service to be rendered by the grantee. It is a customary practice in
the Punjab region (present-day areas comprising largely in the states of
Punjab & Haryana)1 for proprietors of land as well as the larger village
community, to set apart a parcel of land to be held rent-free towards a
temple, mosque or shrines, or granted on favourable terms to a saint,
pandit or any other person belonging to a religious order. As long as
such grant (also known as a ‘dholi’ in erstwhile Punjab) was being used
for the assigned purpose, the person assigned such dholi (referred to as
a ‘dholidar’ in erstwhile Punjab), could not be asked to vacate the same.
The terms dholidar and bhondedar are often interchangeably used albeit
with minor variance. While a dholi is granted in lieu of a service directly
connected with religion, a bhonda would ordinarily be granted towards
rendering secular services like that of a village messenger or watchman,
towards the proprietors of the said land.2 The bhondedar could be ejected
upon failure to fulfil the conditions of such grant or even at the will of
the proprietors. Essentially, it was a method of compensation for certain
services, by granting rent-free land.



1   Gurgaon District Gazetteer, Gurgaon DG – Administrative Section A to C, 1910, pg.
    177.
2   Mamala & Ors. vs. ISA & Anr., 1983 Punjab Law Journal 231; Gurgaon District
    Gazetteer, Gurgaon DG – Administrative Section A to C, 1910, pg. 177.
      LAJJA RAM & ORS. v. RATI CHAND & ORS. ETC                            1531


      11. A bhondedar typically possesses the following characteristic
features:
     (i)     He renders secular services towards the village community as
             well as the biswedars (proprietors),
     (ii) He is granted a parcel of land rent-free, within a village by the
          biswedars in lieu of payment for services rendered, and
     (iii) A bhondedar can be ejected from such piece of land in case of
           failure to render assigned services or fulfil conditions of such
           grant.
      12. The aforementioned characteristic features suggest that the
rights available to Dfdt. No. 1 as the bhondedar, were conditional and not
boundless. He could exercise limited rights as long as he rendered service
towards the village in his capacity as the bhondedar.
     13. Proceeding with the above understanding, let us now examine the
nature & extent of a bhondedar’s right over a shamlatdeh property and also
whether the bhondedar can exercise ownership rights over the granted land.
The conditional and limited rights a dholi or a bhonda can exercise over the
granted land, can be culled out from the decision in Lahore High Court in
Sewa Ram vs. Udegir3where the following was expressed
           “…… in the revenue records the proprietary body are recorded as
           the owners of the property, and the grantee is recorded as a tenant
           in the column of cultivation. So long as the purpose, for which the
           grant is made, is carried out, it cannot be resumed, but should the
           holder fail to carry out the duties of his office, the proprietors can
           eject him and put in someone else under a like tenure……. …….. It
           is beyond dispute that tenure of this kind cannot be alienated by sale
           or mortgage, and there can be little doubt that any alienation of that
           character, if made by the Dohlidar, would be absolutely void………
           As the transaction was altogether void, we consider that even the
           alienor could have successfully pleaded in answer to the plaintiff’s
           suit that the latter could not enforce it in a Court of law……. For
           the foregoing reasons we are of opinion that the Dohlidar had no



3   1921 SCC OnLine Lah 237.
1532          SUPREME COURT REPORTS                            [2023] 16 S.C.R.


        right to make the alienation relied upon by the plaintiff, and that
        the defendant is not precluded from impeaching its validity………”
      14. The above would suggest that a bhondedar had only limited right
and should he fail to carry out his assigned duties, even this limited right
becomes unavailable to the grantee of the property. The very nature of the
tenure(s) does not bestow upon the holder, any right to alienate the granted
land, by sale or mortgage. Consequently, all alienation made by the limited
holder of property, would be manifestly void. This is because bhondedar
or dholidar do not possess title or ownership right of the property that is
granted to him, as a bhonda or dholi.
      15. The inter-play of claims over shamlatdeh category land vis-à-vis
the bhondedar, the Gram Panchayat and the proprietors of such land, may
now be seen. The ownership to such lands rested in proportion to other lands
of the village. For instance, an individual owning some land in the village
also possessed additional proprietary rights and interest over shamlatdeh
lands.4 However, with the enactment of the Punjab Village Common Lands
(Regulation) Act, 1961, the nature of vesting of such lands with the village
community was somewhat altered. The following discussion in State
of Haryana vs. Jai Singh & Ors.5 would assist us in understanding the
implication for community lands in the village:
        Ҧ24. Shamilat land in terms of Section 4 of the 1961 Act vested
        in the Gram Panchayat of the village. The vesting of shamilat
        land in a village panchayat brought about a paradigm shift in the
        ownership of rights in ‘shamilat deh’. The proprietary rights of the
        proprietary body of the village in shamilat land were extinguished
        by a statutory declaration. The proprietary and possessory rights of
        proprietors and non-proprietors in shamilat deh were to henceforth
        vest in a Gram Panchayat and used for common purposes of the
        entire village community, under the aegis of the Gram Panchayat.
        The shamilat deh lands as defined under Section 2 (g) of the 1961
        Act now vest completely, that is, with ownership and title, in the
        Panchayat of the village concerned. The vesting of the shamilat
        deh lands or the village common lands in the Panchayat has been


4   Gram Panchayat of Village Jamalpur vs. Malwinder Singh, (1985) 3 SCC 661.
5   2022 SCC OnLine SC 418.
      LAJJA RAM & ORS. v. RATI CHAND & ORS. ETC                          1533


        for agrarian reforms and such vesting is protected by Article 31A
        of the Constitution.”
      16. While such lands owned by the proprietors came to be vested in
the Gram Panchayat, the Section 4 of the Punjab Village Common Lands
(Regulation) Act, 1961, noted certain important exceptions. The existing
rights, title or interest of persons, who though not entered as occupancy
tenants in the revenue records are accorded a similar status by custom like
a bhondedar, dholidar, etc. and those would not be affected by such vesting
of lands in the Gram Panchayat.
      17. In the present matter, the Dfdt. No.1 (Narain Dass) held conditional
and limited possessory rights as a bhondedar, subject to services being
rendered towards the village community, as recorded in the jamabandi. Such
limited right remains unaffected and unaltered as long as the bhondedar
fulfills their service obligations toward the village. The facts in this case
however indicates that the Dfdt. No. 1 not only ceased to render the required
services but also relocated to a different place soon after unauthorisedly
selling the suit land to Dfdts. 2-5. Consequently, the bhondedar Narain Dass
can have no legitimate claim whatsoever, over the suit land.
      18. Addressing the issue of limitation on account of the decision of
Asst. Collector favouring Narain Dass in the previous proceeding, the High
Court observed that the biswedars or other inhabitants of the village were not
parties in the proceedings before Asst. Collector. It was therefore held that
the decree obtained from the Asst. Collector against the Gram Panchayat,
could not be invoked to argue that the biswedars had relinquished their
rights, title, and/or interest in the land.
      19. Observing that the sale deeds were executed by an individual
lacking valid title, the High Court opined that those could also be disregarded
in collateral proceedings as well. It was also found that the decision in the
previous proceeding cannot extinguish the rights of the plaintiffs and the
Gram Panchayat in the suit simply because the biswedars were unaware of
the Asst. Collector’s order. As soon as the biswedars learnt of such decree in
Narain Dass’ favour against the Gram Panchayat, they filed Suit No.878/1996
before the Trial Court and as such the suit was found to be in order. In our
assessment, the High Court has rightly held that the suit was filed within
time as the biswedars’ right to challenge the sales by the bhondedar would
commence only from the date on which they became aware of such sales.
1534           SUPREME COURT REPORTS                       [2023] 16 S.C.R.


      20. The upshot of the aforementioned discussion is that when the
services were ceased to be rendered towards the management, maintenance
and upkeep of the shamlatdeh land, the limited grant so made to the
bhondedar, by the proprietors i.e., the biswedars, in lieu of such services,
stood extinguished.
       21. No specific material is produced before us to show the precise
terms of arrangement between the biswedars and the bhondedar. However,
it is evident that Narain Dass could have retained possession of the land
only till such time that he continued to discharge the services tied to the
limited grant. Moreover, by relocating to Nangli Gurdhana, i.e., a different
village over 50 years ago (around 1970-71), he obviously ceased rendering
services to the village temple. By the very nature of the conditional grant,
the grantee was naturally incompetent to alienate the shamlatdeh land to
any third parties, including the Dfdts. Nos. 2-5.
      22. The limited right available to Narain Dass to continue to avail the
rent-free land would be extinguished immediately upon cessation of service.
To attract the exception, Narain Dass could not prove that the suit land was
gifted by the biswedars. The only exceptional circumstance that could have
possibly validated ownership and subsequent sales to the Appellants is also
not applicable here.
      23. The oft-quoted statement full of wisdom – “Before the reward,
there must be labour. You plant before you harvest. You sow in tears before
you reap joy.” – attributed to author Ralph Ransom perfectly encapsulates
the current situation, emphasising upon the inherent connection between
effort and reward. As soon as the bhondedar had ceased rendering services,
the concerned land should have returned to the common village pool. The
bhondedar could not have transferred his limited possessory rights or
alienated the said property to the Appellants. In turn, the Appellants, as
transferees, could not have derived any legal right over the suit land either.
     24. Therefore, the High Court’s decision in favour of the plaintiffs
and the Gram Panchayat is consistent with the above opinion of this Court.
Accordingly, the appeals are dismissed without any imposition of costs.


Headnotes prepared by:                                        Appeals dismissed.
Divya Pandey