UMRAO SINGH Vs. LALJI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present appellant Umrao Singh had filed this suit for permanent injunction restraining defendants 1 and 2 (now respondents 1 and 2) respectively from interfering with his possession as well as the possession of the proforma defendant Sardara (now respondent No. 3) over the site in dispute, including the house standing thereon and delineated by letters W, X, Y and Z in the plea filed with the plaint. According to the allegations in the plaint, the plaintiff and proforma defendant Sardara have been in possession of the site in dispute since the time of their ancestors. Two chappars, one pucca kotha, chabutra, verandahs and mangers were in existence on the site in dispute since long. The plaintiff resided on this site and also tethered his cattle. Defendant No. 1 in collusion with defendant No. 2, Gram Panchayat, obtained an order in its favour on 24th September, 1971 from the Director Consolidation, after representing that the site in dispute was agricultural land. Under the cover of that order the said defendants were bent upon to dispossess the plaintiff from this site. The Director, Consolidation, had no jurisdiction to pass any order in respect of the residential sites and therefore, the said order is void and is not binding upon the plaintiff.

(2.) The suit was contested by defendants No. 1 and 2 who filed separate written statements. They pleaded that the plaintiff and the proforma defendant Sardara were not the owners of the site in Dispute, nor any one of them was residing on this site. The Director, Consolidation, passed the impugned order under Section 42 of the East Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation) Act, 1948. The Civil Court had no jurisdiction to entertain the suit. the other allegations of the plaintiff were also denied by him.

(3.) Upon the allegation of the parties, the learned trial Court framed the following issues :