Judgment :

1. Heard Sh. Mahabir Singh, learned senior counsel for the appellant and Sh. B.S. Gupta, counsel for the respondents.

2. Application for impleadment is allowed.

3. This appeal has been preferred against the judgment and order of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana dated 22nd October, 2002 passed in Regular Second Appeal No. 4141 of 2002, which affirmed the Judgment and Order of the First Appellate Court dated 30th September, 2002 passed in Civil Appeal No. 109 of 2001 reversing the Judgment and Decree passed by the Civil Court dated 23rd November, 2001 in Civil Suit No. 423 RT of 1998/2000.

4. Admittedly, the respondents/plaintiffs had filed the suit seeking declaration of certain rights over the suit land admitting the factual position that the land belonged to the State of Haryana. The respondents/plaintiffs as well as the appellants/defendants were tenants in the said suit land. Before the Trial Court, the appellants/defendants had raised the preliminary objection regarding maintainability of the suit for non-joinder of parties. They had taken a stand that the suit for declaration of certain rights in the land belonging to the State of Haryana was not maintainable wit