GIAN CHAND Vs. KULTAR SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal has been filed against the judgment and decree of the lower appellate Court dated March 8, 1976 by which the decision of the trial Court was affirmed and the first appeal filed by the plaintiff-appellant Gian Chand was dismissed.

(2.) The facts of this case are that the land in dispute originally belonged to the Maharaja of Kapurthala. Subsequently its ownership vested in the Punjab Government. It was given by way of muafi to the ancestors of the plaintiff-appeallant Gian Chand and some others, namely Rattan Kaur, Goverdhan Lal, Gauri Shankar, Banke Lal, Jamna Dass, Karam Chand, Charan Dass and Tek Chand. The appellant brought a suit for possession of this land on the grounds that he alone had been in adverse possession thereof for about 25 years and as such he had become its owner; that he continued to be in possession of it till August 1968, when he was forcibly dispossessed by the defendants-respondents Kultar Singh and Lal Singh.

(3.) The defendants contested the suit denying the plaintiff's allegations. They pleaded that earlier Lal Singh defendant No. 2 was in possession of this land as a lessee under the muafidars Rattan Kaur, Karam Chand, Charan Dass and Tek Chand. Thereafter Lal Singh handed over possession to defendant No. 1 Kultar Singh who was accepted as lessee by the aforesaid muafidars vide two lease-deeds. The first (Exhibit D.1) was executed by Charan Dass and Karam Chand muafidars on January 7, 1967 and the second (Exhibit D.2) was executed by Tek Chand and Rattan Kaur muafidars on January 19, 1967. It is, therefore, contended that the appellant was not in possession of this land in August 1968 when, according to him, he was dispossessed by the defendants.