MISHRILAL SUNDARLAL Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS second appeal is by the plaintiff, who has lost his suit for declaration and injunction from the two Courts below,

(2.) BRIEFLY stated, the appellant's case was that the respondent No. 2 was the recorded Bhumiswami of the suit land, but he being the occupancy tenant thereof within the meaning of section 185 of the M. P. Land Revenue Code, 1959, (hereafter called the "code"), had acquired the status of a Bhumiswami by virtue of section 190 of the Code, He claimed to be in a continuous actual physical possession of the suit land as a sub-tenant since Samvat year 2007. Subsequently on the basis of an application made by the respondent No. 2 an order of ejectment under section 248 of the Code was passed against him on 9-9-1968 by the tahsildar, Kolaras, which was maintained upto the Board of Revenue and hence he was required to file the said civil suit for declaration of his title as the bhumiswami of the land and for the consequential relief of injunction.

(3.) THE respondents contested the suit by filing two separate written statements. They submitted that the land was a 'maufi' land, which was given to the idol of Jayeshwar Mahadeo for the purpose of meeting the expenses of its "sewa-Puja". According to the respondent No. 2, the land, thus belonged to "a person subject to physical or mental disability within the meaning of section 168 (2) (v) of the Code and, therefore, the appellant could not derive the status of a bhumiswami by virtue of a lease granted to him by the "pujari" of the temple. The respondent No. 1 tried to justify the ejectment order by contending that the land continued to be the 'milkiyat Sarkar' and as the 'pujari1 of the temple had no authority to grant lease of the land, the status of the appellant was only that of an encroacher over the suit land.