ANANT SINGH Vs. NANAK SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appellants are aggrieved of judgment/order dated 29/07/1988 passed by learned 2nd Addl. District Judge, Jammu, setting aside the ex parte judgment and decree passed by Civil Subordinate Judge (Munici-pal Magistrate). Jammu in their favour. The first appellate Court had been moved by respondent (Nanak Singh), who was not a party-defendant in the suit before trial Court. The short controversy, therefore, is whether respondent who was not a party-defendant in the suit could maintain the appeal against the ex parte judgment and decree passed in favour of the appellants.

(2.) Appellants had filed a suit seeking declaration that land covered under Khewat No. 12 (Khata Nos. 122 to 124) in village Chak-Ratnu Tehsil Jammu was their exclu-sive property land and was not an evacuee property and that their order dated 8/05/1986 passed by Provincial Rehabilitation Officer, Jammu resuming the land from them and allotting it to respondent lacked in jurisdiction.

(3.) The total burden of Mr. Gupta's argument is that since respondent was not a party-defendant in the suit as he was only an allottee of the land in question and as the lis was between appellants and the Custodian Evacuees property, therefore, he was not a person aggrieved and could not maintain the appeal. He placed strong reliance on 1984 KLJ 107 to buttress his contention that an allottee of the evacuee property land has no locus to maintain any cause arising out of a lis between the original owner and the Custodian Evacuees Property. According to him, since respondent was a stranger to the suit he could not maintain the appeal.