Harbhajan Singh v. Financial Commissioner (Appeals), Punjab,

Petitioner (Harbhajan Singh) has filed the instant writ petition under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India, inter alia, seeking a writ in the nature of Certiorari to set aside order dated 28.08.2024 (Annexure P-6) passed by the learned Financial Commissioner (Appeals), Punjab; whereby appointment of petitioner as Lambardar of Village Prempur, Tehsil Dasuya, District Hoshiarpur, has been set aside and respondent No.4 (Maninderjit Singh) has been appointed as Lambardar (General) of Village Prempur.

1.1 A further prayer has been made for restoring order dated 01.05.2018 (Annexure P-1) passed by the learned Deputy Commissioner-

cum-District Collector, Hoshiarpur; whereby petitioner was appointed as Lambardar of Village Prempur, Tehsil Dasuya, District Hoshiarpur. Village Prempur, Tehsil Dasuya, District Hoshiarpur 01.05.2018 01.05.2018 Prempur.

01.05.2018 01.05.2018

11.

Here, it would be apposite to state the relative merits of the candidates (as noticed by the learned Collector), which can be summed up as under:-

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12.

In my considered view, learned Financial Commissioner has erred in upsetting the appointment of petitioner as Lambardar of Village Prempur for more than one reason.

12.1 Firstly, learned Financial Commissioner had failed to consider and appreciate that in the matter of appointment of Lambardar, the choice of learned Collector is not to be lightly interfered with, even if two views are possible; as held by a Division Bench of this Court in "Kuldip Singh vs Financial Commissioner, Appeals-II, Punjab", 2016(1) RCR (Civil) 273. 12.2 Secondly,

12.3 Thirdly, petitioner is more educated and holds more land holding than respondent No.4. Moreover, petitioner's name was recommended by the lower revenue officials, which is a relevant consideration, as such recommendations have a persuasive value. 13.

That apart, I have also gone through the order dated 01.05.2018 (Annexure P-1) passed by the learned Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Collector, Hoshiarpur; the relevant extract of which reads as under:- "

- x - x - I have carefully perused the file of this case and personally heard the candidates who have come present. I find that Sh. Harbhajan Singh son of Sardar Singh is the fittest candidate out of all the candidates. He is age 65 years and he is a permanent resident of the village. He is son of the deceased Lambardar and he participates in the development works of the village with great vigour. He has neither been punished nor any fine has been imposed upon him by any court. Four candidates have withdrawn their applications in his favour and residents of the village have given majornama in his favour. His name has also been recommended by the Lower Courts. Therefore, I appoint Sh. Harbhajan Singh son of Sardar Singh resident of Village Prempur, Tehsil Dasuya, District Hoshiarpur as the new General Lambardar in place of Sh.

Sardar Singh deceased Lambardar of Village Prempur, Tehsil Dasuya, District Hoshiarpur. The case file be consigned to the record room after compiling and compliance." 13.1 A perusal of the aforesaid order (Annexure P-1) clearly shows that the learned Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Collector, Hoshiarpur has compared the relative merits and de-merits of all the candidates, and thereafter, he has proceeded to highlight the better merits of the petitioner and accordingly, appointed him as Lambardar of Village Prempur.

14.

The order dated 01.05.2018 (Annexure P-1) passed by the learned Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Collector, Hoshiarpur is well reasoned and justified, which does not call for any interference. Moreover, the aforesaid order (Annexure P-1) was further upheld by the learned Divisional Commissioner, Jalandhar.

In the aforementioned facts and circumstances, I am of the considered view that order dated 28.08.2024 (Annexure P-6) passed by the learned Financial Commissioner (Appeals), Punjab is unsustainable and the same is accordingly set aside. Resultantly, the instant writ petition is allowed and order dated 01.05.2018 (Annexure P-1) passed by learned Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Collector, Hoshiarpur, appointing the petitioner as Lambardar of Village Prempur, Tehsil Dasuya, District Hoshiarpur; is upheld.

16.

All pending application(s), if any, shall also stand closed.