UTTAM CHAND Vs. PATHANU RAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By means of this petition the petitioner has laid challenge to the judgement dated 10.07.2009 passed by the learned District Judge, Kangra at Dharamshala, whereby he allowed the appeal of the plaintiff-appellant and set-aside the judgement of the learned trial Court whereby the suit of the plaintiff had been dismissed on the ground that the same was time barred.

(2.) The undisputed facts are that the respondent Uttam Chand had earlier filed a suit being Civil Suit No.12 of 1999 titled as Uttam Chand vs. Pathanu in which it was prayed that defendant Pathanu be restrained from cutting trees from the suit land. Pathanu contested the suit and stated that he had cut the tree in his own land. Uttam Chand while appearing in the witness box stated that defendant had threatened to cut the tree in the year 1999 and despite stay orders from the Court passed in the month of February, 1999 Pathanu had cut a tree from the suit land which was still lying there. It would be pertinent to mention that this suit filed by Uttam Chand was dismissed vide judgement and decree Ext.P-3 and Ext.P-4, respectively.

(3.) Thereafter, Pathanu filed another Civil Suit No. 35 of 2005 which has given rise to the present petition. The claim of Pathanu was that though the tree had been cut by him, later Uttam Chand and his father Munshi Ram (defendants) removed the wood of the Tuhni tree and therefore, caused a loss of Rs.15,000/- to him. It would be pertinent to mention that the present petitioner Uttam Chand who was defendant, alongwith his father Munshi Ram, did not deny the fact that they had removed the cut wood of Tuhni tree but according to them this tree was standing over their own land. The learned trial Court dismissed the suit and one grounds for dismissal of the suit was that the suit was barred by limitation. According to the learned trial Court, the cause of action arose in favour of the plaintiff in February, 1999. He also held that there is no material on record which would show that Pathanu was in fact restrained by the learned Sub Judge by way of injunctive order to remove the Tuhni tree.