State of H.P. & Ors. Vs. Ashwani Kumar & Ors.
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Head Note
Civil Law - Himachal Pradesh Ceiling on Land Holdings
Himachal Pradesh Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1972 - Section 4 -Himachal Pradesh Ceiling on Land Holdings Rules, 1972 - Rule 16 -Land Ceiling - Permissible Area - Determination of - Surplus land - Opening words of sub-section (4) of Section 4, starts with "every adult son of a person" meaning thereby even if a person has more than one adult son, all will be treated as separate unit individually but subject to the condition that aggregate land of the family and that of the separate units put together shall not exceed twice the area permissible under the said sub-section - Provision of Section 17 makes it clear that when any person/landowner acquires or succeeds land which is in excess of permissible area after the commencement of the Act, such land holder has to file separate return to the Collector as per Rule 16 of the Rules, 1972 - High Court held to have committed serious error of law in holding that if a wife holds land separately in her own right, she is entitled to be treated as an individual person for the purpose of determining the permissible area available to her - Impugned judgment passed by the High Court liable to be set aside.
Civil Law - Principle of Stare Decisis
Principle of Stare Decisis - Held that to maintain certainty in the judicial decision the court should refrain from interfering with such decision which stood for a long period - However, this principle will be applicable "where the meaning of a statute is ambiguous and capable of more interpretations than one".
Topic(s)-Land Ceiling - Permissible Area - Wife individual land is not to be treated as an individual