HARYANA WAKF BOARD Vs. MAHESH KUMAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is the original plaintiff. It is a Wakf Board which had filed Civil Suit in the Court of Civil Judge, Junior Division, Karnal, Haryana way back in the year 2000 seeking possession of property admeasuring 21 square yards which was allegedly given on rent by the Wakf Board to one Major Ram Prakash. This piece of land is a part of Khasra No.4129, Kasba Karnal, Haryana. The petitioner claims that the entire land is a Muslim graveyard land and hence the same is Wakf property. The entire Khasra measures 800 square yards and is given on lease to different persons by different allotment letters. As stated above, 21 square yards out of this land was given to Major Ram Prakash on monthly rent vide allotment letters dated 1.9.1969. The petitioner also claims that the suit property was formally notified under Section 5 (2) vide Notification dated 19.12.1970 of the Wakf Act, 1954 as Wakf property. After the death of Major Ram Prakash, his son Gurcharan Singh and his widow Smt. Savitri Kadyan executed a long term lease in favour of the present defendant/ respondent Shri Mahesh Kumar in the year 1991 and put him in possession. As per the case of the petitioner, the petitioner came to know about this alleged illegal creation of lease deed in favour of the respondent in the year 1996 and treated it as illegal encroachment by the respondent. The petitioner requested him to vacate the premises. When he did not do so, the aforesaid suit was filed in the Court of Civil Judge, Junior Division, Karnal, Haryana for possession of the suit property.

(2.) The respondent appeared and filed the written statement raising several preliminary objections regarding maintainability of the suit. Apart from stating that the suit was bad for non-joinder of necessary party, lack of locus standi and barred of principle of estoppel, it was also barred by limitation. On merits, the respondent stated that he was in possession of the suit property for the last 10 years as a tenant of Smt. Nirmala Devi and it is Nirmala Devi who was the lessee of the property vide a registered lease deed and the suit property was not wakf property.

(3.) On the pleadings of the parties, following issues were framed: