TIRATH SINGH Vs. DELHI WAKF BOARD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The challenge by means of the present Regular First Appeal under Section 96 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC) is to the impugned judgment and decree dated 8.7.1996 whereby the suit of the Respondent-Plaintiff/Wakf Board was decreed for possession against the Appellants/Defendants for the property Shahji Ghatali Ka Gumbad, Khasra No. 9 Hauz Rani, Malviya Nagar, New Delhi shown in red colour in the site plan Ex.PW3/1.

(2.) The facts of the case are that the subject property was recognized as Wakf property by virtue of a notification Ex.PW1/2 dated 16.4.1970. In terms of the provision of Section 6 of the Wakf Act, 1954 as applicable in the year 1970, if any person disputed the property as not being a Wakf property, such a person had to file a suit in a Civil Court within one year of the publication of the list of Wakfs under Sub-section (2) of Section 6. No such suit was filed by the Appellants/Defendants. The Respondent/Plaintiff filed the subject suit for possession on 2.1.1986.

(3.) The Appellants/Defendants appeared and contested the suit and took up various defences. The first defence was that they were displaced persons from Pakistan and were therefore allotted the property by government officials. The second defence was that the Appellants were in adverse possession of the subject property.