PUNJAB STATE Vs. NARANJAN SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) INSTANT regular second appeal has been filed by the State of Punjab challenging the judgment and decree dated 31.07.1986 passed by learned Additional District Judge, Ludhiana, whereby the appeal of respondent No. 1/plaintiff has been allowed and suit of respondent No. 1/plaintiff has been decreed, reversing the judgment and decree dated 18.05.1984 passed by learned Sub Judge 1st Class, Ludhiana. For convenience sake, hereinafter parties will be referred to as they were arrayed in the trial court i.e. appellant as defendants and respondent No. 1 as plaintiff.

(2.) BRIEF facts of the case are that plaintiff filed a suit for permanent injunction restraining the defendants from recovering or demanding any royalty on the excavation of brick earth from land situated in the area of village Dad for the manufacture of bricks. The plaintiff pleaded that he had taken on lease some land in the revenue estate of village Dad, Tehsil and District Ludhiana for excavation of brick earth for the manufacture of bricks. Defendant No. 2 issued notice to the plaintiff for the payment of royalty on the excavation of bricks on the ground that the brick earth is a minor mineral and vests in the State of Punjab. It was further pleaded that demand is illegal as neither the brick earth is a minor mineral nor it vests in the State Government. In pursuance of notice, defendants filed written statement and contested the suit. They took up the preliminary objections that the jurisdiction of the civil court is barred under Section 158 of the Punjab Land Revenue Act and the suit is not maintainable in the present form as other equally efficacious remedies are available to the plaintiff and the suit was bad for non -joinder of necessary parties. On merits it was pleaded that brick earth has been declared to be a minor mineral by the Government of India vide notification dated 01.06.1958 issued in exercise of the powers vested in it under Section 3 of the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 1957 and according to the entries of the wajib -ul -arz of village Dad, brick earth vests in the Government.

(3.) WHETHER the suit is bad for non -joinder of necessary parties? OPD