In Brief
Jaipal Singh owned over 221 standard acres in Punjab. A surplus-land determination initiated in 1960 under the 1953 Act remained pending when Haryana's 1972 Land Ceiling Act came into force. Jaipal Singh sold 125 Kanal 8 Marla to Mohan Singh in 1974. In 1979, during the continued 1953 Act proceedings, Jaipal Singh submitted those sold plots as his own to be included in the surplus pool. The Supreme Court held that pending surplus-determination proceedings must complete under the 1953 Act (per Section 33(2) savings clause), not the 1972 Act. 'Determination of surplus area' inherently includes the landowner's selection of permissible plots. Therefore, the 1972 Act's provisions favouring transferred land could not override the 1953 Act proceedings. The appeal was dismissed.
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