SUBE SINGH Vs. CHHANNO DEVI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is filed by defendant no.1 in a suit for declaration filed by the plaintiffs that they along with defendants no.5 to 10 are owners in possession of the land in dispute, situated in village Rojhka, Tehsil and District Rewari. Defendants no.1 to 4 (hereinafter referred as the "contesting defendants") had been using the northern killa line of rectangle no.12, killa nos.24, 23, 22 to reach their land, which was shortest rasta to reach their land. Defendant no.1 moved an application under Section 21(2) of the East Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation) Act, 1948 (here-in-after referred to as the "Act"), which was allowed by the Consolidation Officer on 16.11.1988 with a link passage to the land of the contesting defendants which passes through rectangle no.12, killa no.11/3 belonging to the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs had filed the present suit to challenge the aforesaid order on the ground that the said order has been passed without affording any opportunity of hearing and is, thus, liable to be ignored as not binding on them.

(2.) The contesting defendants filed a joint written statement. They averred that they are not the owner of the entire land shown in the green colour in the site plan and are owners only of the land comprising in khewat no.19, khatauni no.22, rectangle no.11, killa nos.16, 17, 24, 20/2 and rectangle no.12, killa no.25. The disputed rasta had already been in existence between killa no.11/2 and 11/3 and being used by the contesting defendants to reach their land. It is also averred that the Consolidation Officer had issued summons and even got pasted a copy thereof on the house belonging to the plaintiffs and proforma defendants but they did not turn up to join the proceedings. It was, thus, pleaded that the impugned order has been rightly passed by the Consolidation Officer and the suit was resisted on the ground that the Civil Court had no jurisdiction to try the suit.

(3.) The plaintiffs filed replication and reiterated their stand taken in the plaint.