GIANI RAM Vs. DDA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant Giani Ram, who died after the filing of this appeal and now is being represented by his legal heirs, was the unsuccessful plaintiff in a suit for perpetual injunction filed by him against the respondent herein and reference to him shall now be made as the deceased plaintiff .

(2.) The deceased plaintiff had filed a suit for permanent injunction on 23.11.1979 against the respondent Delhi Development Authority(hereinafter to be referred as the DDA ) for restraining it from recovering any amount of damages and dispossessing him from his house built on plot of land bearing khasra no. 23/23/1, measuring 11 biswas in village Najafgarh(hereinafter to be referred as the suit property ). It was pleaded in the plaint by the deceased plaintiff that he was the owner in possession of the suit property for over 30 years. Since by some mistake the plot of land, on which the suit property had been constructed, came to be vested in the Gaon Sabha when the Delhi Land Reforms Act came into force he had filed a civil suit for a declaration that the vesting of his land with the Gaon Sabha was illegal and without jurisdiction. That civil suit was decreed by the Court of Civil Judge in the year 1961 but subsequently on the application of the Union of India a fresh trial was held and once again the Civil Judge decreed the suit in favour of the plaintiff on 28.10.69 and while setting aside the order of vesting of the suit land in Gaon Sabha the learned Civil Judge had also ordered that the plaintiff shall be entitled to retain possession of the suit property. The appeal filed by the Gaon Sabha/Union of India was partly allowed by the appellate Court on 26.04.1971 and while maintaining the judgment of the trial Court setting aside the vesting order the appellate Court set aside the direction that the plaintiff shall remain in possession of the suit property. The deceased plaintiff had, however, continued to occupy the suit property. However, in November,1979 the DDA threatened to dispossess him from the suit property. The DDA also raised a demand of Rs.12,657.80 on account of damages for unauthorized use and occupation of the land in dispute by the deceased plaintiff. That demand was was sought to be recovered under the provisions of the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971. Apprehending his dispossession from his property and recovery of the damages, the plaintiff filed the suit for permanent injunction out which this second appeal has arisen.

(3.) The DDA had contested the suit by filing its written statement dated 08.04.1980. It was claimed by the DDA that in the year 1963 the land in dispute had ceased to be rural land by virtue of notification under Section 507 of The Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 and stood vested in the Union of India and in the year 1974 that land had been placed at the disposal of DDA by the Central Government under Section 22(1) of the Delhi Development Act. It was further pleaded that the deceased plaintiff was a recent trespasser.