MUNICIPAL BOARD Vs. MUMTAZ KHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a plaintiff's appeal and arises out of a suit for a declaration that the property in dispute, which is a plot of land in Koil in the district of Aligarh, belongs to it. According to the plaint, the plot is a part of a public street No. 71 and is vested in it. It granted a lease of this land on 14-8-1937 to one Bunyad Ali for 30 years. The defendants first party prevented it from raising any constructions and a criminal complaint was filed against them in which, however, they succeeded. It was on these allegations that the present suit for the reliefs mentioned above, was brought.

(2.) The defendants denied the plaintiff's title and claimed a title in themselves. The plaintiff produced a large number of documents, including Exs. 8 and 9 the former is a khasra of 1921 prepared under the order of the Government dated 16 3-1921, the latter is an extract from the register of immovable property of 1931 kept by the Municipal Board under a Government Order of 1931.

(3.) The learned Munsif held that the above two papers were not admissible in evidence. This conclusion he based upon an unreported decision of Yorke J., in Second Appeal No. 1454 of 1939, decided on 14-10-1941. He considered the other evidence and found that they were not enough to prove the plaintiff's title. In the result, he dismissed the suit. On appeal, the learned Civil Judge referred to these two documents and two other documents, which had been accepted by the learned Munsif, and felt himself bound to discard the former on the authority of the decision of Yorke J., although his own view and inclination were otherwise. He however failed to consider the other evidence to which he had himself referred. He affirmed the decision of the learned Munsif and the Municipal Board has come to this Court in second appeal. The appeal Originally came up before Allsop J., who, by his order dated 26-9-1946 referred it to a Division Bench.