Research › Search › Judgment

Punjab High Court · body

2013 DIGILAW 825 (PNJ)

Devinder Sharma v. Financial Commissioner

2013-07-04

RAKESH KUMAR JAIN

body2013
Rakesh Kumar Jain, J.;— The question involved in this case is “whether the choice of Collector in appointment of the Lambardar, who is a regular government employee and likely to be absent from the village on account of his official work, can be interfered with by the Commissioner or the Financial Commissioner”. The skeletal facts of the case are that the post of Lambardar fell vacant due to death of Shri Desh Raj Lambardar of village Agawanpur. In order to fill up the said vacancy, publication was done on 17.01.2008 which could attract 7 applications. After the preliminary inquiry, Tehsildar, Gannaur and SDO(C), Gannaur recommended the case of the petitioner to the Collector for appointment who, vide his order dated 19.01.2011, appointed the petitioner as Lambardar. The said order was challenged by respondent No.4 before the Commissioner, Rohtak Division, Rohtak, but he did not interfere in the choice of the Collector and dismissed the appeal vide order dated 06.04.2012. Respondent No.4 then filed revision petition before the Financial Commissioner which has been accepted vide order dated 23.05.2013. Counsel for the petitioner has submitted that after his appointment as Lambardar on 19.01.2011, the petitioner has been working as such but respondent No.1 has committed a patent error in upsetting the choice of Collector only on the ground that the petitioner is in regular government service and would not be available to discharge his duties as Lambardar. It is submitted that respondent No.1 has categorically observed that the petitioner, being a government servant, is not ineligible for consideration for appointment as Lambardar as such a person has a full right to contest for the post of Lambardar being eligible as per Rules, but still respondent No.4 has been appointed though the petitioner is a Postgraduate and more meritorious then respondent No.4. He has also submitted that the choice of the Collector can be interfered only in case of any perversity and not on the basis of their respective merits. I have heard counsel for the petitioner and perused the record. Before adverting to the facts of the case, I may highlight the scheme of the Punjab Land Revenue Rules (as applicable to Haryana) [hereinafter referred to as the “Rules”]. Rule 15 lays down the parameters to be considered in the case of first appointment of Lambardar belonging to General category. Before adverting to the facts of the case, I may highlight the scheme of the Punjab Land Revenue Rules (as applicable to Haryana) [hereinafter referred to as the “Rules”]. Rule 15 lays down the parameters to be considered in the case of first appointment of Lambardar belonging to General category. Rule 19 relates to the appointment of Revenue farmers and mortgagees as Lambardar and Rule 19-B deals with the circumstances required to be considered at the time of appointment of Lambardar of reserved category. The duties of Lambardar are laid down in Rule 20, who could be dismissed from service in terms of Rule 16 of the Rules. Now adverting to the facts of the present case, undisputedly, the petitioner is working as a Lab Assistant in the Department of Health, Haryana, and his service is of transferable nature. It is also admitted by the petitioner that he is posted at Gannaur, which is otherwise 3 Kms. away from his village. Now the question is that should a person, who is in government service of a transferable job and is absentee from the village throughout the day, be considered to be appointed as Lambardar. The answer of this question is hidden in the nature of duties which are to be performed by the Lambardar laid down in Rule 20 of the Rules, which are reproduced as under:- “20. The answer of this question is hidden in the nature of duties which are to be performed by the Lambardar laid down in Rule 20 of the Rules, which are reproduced as under:- “20. Duties of headman.- In addition to the duties imposed upon headman by law for any purpose, a headman shall- (i) collect by due date all land revenue and all sums, recoverable as land revenue from the estate, or sub-division of an estate in which he holds office, and pay the same personally or by revenue money order or by remittance of currency notes through the post or at places where treasury business is conducted by the State Bank of India or any Scheduled Bank as notified by the State Government from time to time, by cheque on a local Bank at the place and time appointed in that behalf to the Revenue Officer or assigneee empowered by Government to receive it; (ii) collect the rents and other income of the common land, and account for them to the persons entitled thereto; (iii) acknowledge every payment received by him in the books of the landowners and tenants; (iv) defray joint expenses of the estate and render accounts thereof as may be duly required of him; (v) report to the tehsildar the death of any assignee of land revenue or Government pensioner residing in the estate, or the marriage or re-marriage of a female drawing a family pension and residing in the estate; or the absence of any such person for more than a year; (vi) report to the tehsildar and Collector all encroachments on roads (including village roads) or on Government Weaste Landand injury to the roads, public streets and Government, Nazul and panchayat land; (vii) report any injury to Government buildings made over to his charge; (viii) carry out, to the best of his ability, any orders that he may receive from the Collector requiring him to furnish information or to assist in providing on payment supplies or means of transport for troops or for officers of Government on duty; (ix) assist in such manner as the Collector may from time to time direct at all crop inspections, recording of mutations, surveys, preparation of records of right, or other revenue business carried on within the limits of the estate; (x) attend the summons of all authorities having jurisdiction in the estate, assist all officers of the Government in the execution of their public duties, supply, to the best of his ability any local information which those officers may require, and generally act for the landowners, tenants and residents of the estate or sub-division of the estate in which he holds office in their relations with Government; (xi) report to the patwari any outbreak of disease among animals (or human beings). (xii) report to the partwari the deaths of any right-holders in their estates. (xiii) report any breach or cut in a Government Irrigation canal or channel to the nearest canal officer (or canal patwari). (xiv) under the general or special directions of the Collector, assist by the use of his personal influence and otherwise all officers of Government and other persons, duly authorized by the Collector, in the collection and enrolment of recruits for military service whether combatant or non-combatant. (xv) render all possible assistance to the village postman, while passing the night in the village, in safeguarding the cash and other valuables that he carries.” From the resume of the aforesaid duties, it is apparent that the Lambardar has not only to collect the land revenue, which is only believed to be so, but has to perform many other important functions like furnishing report to the tehsildar the death of any government pensioner, marriage or re-marriage of a female drawing family pension or absence of any such person for more than a year; report to the tehsildar and Collector about all encroachments on public streets and Government, Nazul and panchayat land; assist in such manner as the Collector may from time to time direct at all crop inspections, recording of mutations, surveys, preparation of records of right, or other revenue business carried on within the limits of the estate; attend the summons of all authorities having jurisdiction in the estate and assist all officers of the Government in the execution of their public duties; report to the patwari of any outbreak of disease among animals or human beings; report to the patwari the deaths of any right-holders in their estates; report any breach or cut in a Government Irrigation canal or channel to the nearest canal officer or canal patwari and render all possible assistance to the village postman etc. The aforesaid duties can only be performed by a person who is available in the village and not by the person who is absent throughout the day on account of his other government duties like the petitioner who is working as a Lab Assistant in the Department of Health, Haryana, who would not be able to perform all the aforesaid duties because of his own busy schedule and may ultimately be not available in the village due to his transfer to some other distant place. The perception of the petitioner that it has been observed by the Financial Commissioner that the government employee can be appointed as Lambardar and is eligible and also suitable is patently erroneous because a person may be eligible for a post but he may not ultimately be suitable for the purpose of appointment. The Financial Commissioner has rightly observed that appointment of the petitioner in the circumstances when he is not available in the village throughout the day because he is in government service and may be posted at a distant place on transfer, on that account the choice of the Collector can be interfered with by the Commissioner or the Financial Commissioner. In view of the aforesaid discussion, the question framed in the beginning of the judgment is answered in affirmative while dismissing the writ petition.