GIAN CHAND & ORS. Vs. BANTI DEVI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A suit for permanent prohibitory injunction came to be filed by the respondent-plaintiff before the court of learned Munsiff, Akhnoor, restraining the defendants from dispossessing and making illegal interference into the suit land measuring 3 kanals 4 marias falling in khasra No.276, situated at village Mawa Karora, tehsil Akhnoor. The petitioner-defendants filed written statement resisting the said suit. Thereafter, an application under Order 6 Rule 17 C.P.C., came to be filed by the petitioners seeking amendment of the written statement. The learned trial court after hearing the parties, dismissed the aforesaid application of the petitioner vide order impugned dt. 11th of Dec'08. It is this order, which is being challenged in the present petition.

(2.) The learned trial court has observed that the proposed amendment has been sought by the defendants after 13 years of filing the written statement by them and in case, the said amendment is allowed at this stage, this will prejudice the rights of the plaintiff.

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the learned trial court while rejecting the application for amendment has not appreciated the pleas taken in their right perspective. It is stated that the plaintiff-respondent is out of possession of the suit property and, as such, the suit is not maintainable and the matter is triable by the authorities under the Agrarian Reforms Act under Section 19 of the Agrarian Reforms Act. It is stated that with regard to the property in dispute, the decision has been given by the authority under the Agrarian Reforms Act and the matter is subjudice before the Jammu and Kashmir Special Tribunal, Jammu, and other forums, and as such, in view of Section 25 of the aforementioned Act, the learned trial court had no jurisdiction to try the suit.