MUNICIPAL BOARD, MEERUT Vs. RAGHO RAM AND ANOTHER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a defendants second appeal in a suit for declaration that the proceedings taken by it for declaring certain land to be a public street are illegal, void and Ineffective. The suit was decreed by the trial court and the decree has been maintained by the lower appellate-court.

(2.) The land in suit belongs to the plaintiffs who have their houses along the land and used it as passage to the public road. Three other persons had' their houses to the North of the land who had a right but that too came to an end when the defendant Municipal Board constructed a lane which could be used as passage by them from their houses to the Public road. The land in suit was not used as a passage by the public and the defendant Municipal Board had no right in law to declare it a public street; but one of those three persons, namely, Jai Prakash who has his house immediately to the north of the land in question and had only a right of easement through it, out of enmity with the plaintiffs initiated a proceeding before the defendant Municipal Board for declaring it as a public street. The plaintiffs objected but the defendant Municipal Board rejected their objection and purported to declare it as a public street by its Resolution No. 337 dated 29th April, 1964. The plaintiffs thereupon served a notice under Sec. 326 of the U. P. Municipalities Act that having had no effect, they brought the suit for the aforesaid declaration.

(3.) The defendant Municipal Board denied the plaintiffs ownership of the land in suit and their locus standi to maintain the suit. The defendant Municipal Board claimed that the procedure prescribed by Sec. 221 of the U. P. Municipalities Act was followed and the land had lawfully been declared to be a public street. It was alleged, that the land in suit had long been used as a passage, as of right by the members of the public whose houses abutted towards the west and to the north of the plaintiffs houses.