SURYA NARAIN CHOUDHARY Vs. DARBHANGA DISTRICT BOARD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal on behalf of the defendant. The plaintiff-respondent instituted Title Suit No. 213 of 1965 in the Court of First Munsif, Samastipur, for declaration of its title over the subject-matter in dispute and for a decree for removal of encroachment alleged to have been made by the appellant over the public land.

(2.) The case of the plaintiff-respondent was that in village Bailipur, prasuram, in the district of Darbhanga, a District Board road runs from east to west over survey plot Nos. 1602 and 1677. Even in the survey Khaitan, the aforesaid plots have been recorded as Gair Mazrua Aam Rasta. According to the plaintiff, the defendant-appellant, in the month of July, 1957, illegally encroached upon a portion of the said road from north by constructing a house. The total land which was encroached upon is alleged to be 1 katha 17 dhoors details whereof have been given at the foot of the plaint. In the plaint, It was further stated that, in the year I960, a proceeding under the Bihar Public Land Encroachment Act, 1956 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') was instituted in respect of the said encroachment giving rise to Land Encroachment case No. 46 of 1960-61. The said proceeding, however, was drooped by the Land Reforms Deputy Collector, Satnastipur on 22.1.1963, saying that the encroachment was an old one. Thereafter, on 16.12.1965, the aforesaid title suit was filed by the plaintiff for the reliefs mentioned above.

(3.) The appellant filed his written statement and one of the objections taken on his behalf was that the suit was not maintainable in view of Section 16 of the Act which places a bar on the jurisdiction of the Civil Court to question the legality or otherwise of the orders passed by the authorities concerned under the provisions of the Act.