LAHARAM Vs. GURUMUKHRAO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE plot of land in dispute adjoins land belonging to each party, and each of them asserts that it always has been a part of his land. The issue has been narrowed down to the question of whether it was recorded in the papers of the Settlement of 1910-11 as a part of the land of the plaintiffs or of the defendant. The Settlement map shows it is a part of the defendant's land, and the khasra of the same year, by the areas recorded in it, shows it as belonging to the plaintiffs. The learned Additional District Judge has held that the khasra is more reliable than the map, and has, therefore, given the plaintiffs a decree for possession.

(2.) THE value of the khasra entries is shown by their being completely wrong in the matter of the area under cultivation. But anyhow, the idea that the khasra is more reliable than the map or that they are independent pieces of evidence, is based on the mistake that they are prepared independently. It requires little knowledge of survey to see that the area of a plot of land cannot be ascertained from the land itself unless it is of some quite regular shape; there must be the intermediate stage of the delineation of the land on a map, from which the area can be calculated.

(3.) THE decree of the lower appellate Court will be set aside and that of the first Court dismissing the suit will be restored. The plaintiffs-respondents will pay the whole of the costs of both parties in all three Courts. The pleader's fee in this Court will be thirty rupees.