VORA SALEHBHAI GULAMBHAI Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These two appeals are preferred against the decisions by this Court (Divan J.) in Second Appeals Nos. 760 of 1960 and 757 of 1960 respectively. The question about the application of the principles of res-judicata arising in these two appeals was negatived by Divan J. in those two Second Appeals. The facts necessary to understand the points which arise in these Appeals are as follows:-

(2.) The plaintiffs in Civil Suit No. 1224 of 1954 in the Court of the Joint Civil Judge Senior Division Baroda who are appellants in Letters Patent Appeal No. 1 of 1966 claimed to have obtained a right to cut certain trees standing on 32 survey numbers mentioned in the plaint and also on survey No. 200 of the village Jinjarvani in Chhota Udepur Taluka by two documents dated 25th April 1954 executed by the Jagirdars of the village. Jiajarvani was admittedly a proprietary Jagir village which would mean that the Jagirdars were the owners of the soil also. It is not disputed that these Jagirdars were the owners of the trees in the 32 survey numbers in respect of which the plaintiffs obtained their right by the document at Exh. 179. They obtained the right to cut trees in survey number 200 by the document at Exh. 150 But the trial Court came to the conclusion that the Jagirdars had no right in respect of the trees in that survey number and accordingly the trial Court dismissed the suit in respect of the survey No. 200. The appeal of the plaintiffs in respect of that survey number to the District Court was also dismissed. The right of the plaintiffs to the trees in Survey No. 200 is not further agitated in the second appeal and hence it is not necessary for us to consider the right of the plaintiffs in respect of the trees in Survey No. 200. The period during which the plaintiffs were required to cut the trees and take them away was 3 years from the date that they obtained authorisation from the Forest Officers of the State. The plaintiffs applied for such authorisation but the same was refused to them. The plaintiffs therefore filed Suit No. 1224 of 1954 in the Court of the Civil Judge Senior Division at Baroda for the reliefs of declaration of their title to the trees covered by the documents and for a prohibitory injunction restraining the State and its officers from obstructing the plaintiffs cutting felling and exploitation of the standing trees acquired by them from the Jagirdars and also for a mandatory injunction compelling the State and its officers to issue necessary authorisation for the transport of the cut material.

(3.) The State of Bombay which has been subsequently substituted by the State of Gujarat was joined as defendant No. 1 and the Jojguda Jungle Kamdar Sahakari Mandal Ltd. at Chhota Udepur was joined as defendant No. 2 to this suit. The defendant No. 2 was joined as a party to the suit because the State had auctioned the trees in about 100 acres of the land to that Mandal. The Mandal however did not appear in the proceedings.