In order to succeed in an action for malicious prosecution, the plaintiff must prove that there was his prosecution by the defendant in respect of criminal charge, that the proceedings complained of terminated in his favour, that the defendant instituted or carried on such proceedings maliciously, and that he suffered damages.

(PER : HONOURABLE MS JUSTICE SONIA GOKANI)

1. The present First Appeal has been preferred under section 96 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, challenging the legality and validity of the judgment and decree dated April 27, 2001 passed by the 3rd Joint Civil Judge (Senior Division) and Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Surendranagar, in Special Civil Suit No.35 of 1997.

2. The brief facts leading to filing of the present appeal are as under :

2.1 As averred in the appeal, the appellant-original plaintiff (hereinafter referred to as 'the plaintiff') is the prince of the erstwhile ruler of Wadhwan City. The State of Wadhwan was ruled by the ancestors of the plaintiff namely his father Shri Surendrasinhji Jhala and grandfather Shri Joravarsinhji Jhala. Cities like Surendranagar and Joravarnagar are named after the said ancestors of the plaintiff. The people in the region have enormous love and respect for the entire princely family. The father of the plaintiff was also an elected legislative member of Wadhwan constituency, who also donated various parcels of his lands for the purpose of promoting educational activities in the area. Even for the development of the business, lands have also been allotted to the GIDC. Thus, it is further averred that the image and reputation of the entire family even after the State of Wadhwan merged into the Union of India, continued to soar high in the minds and hearts of the people. After the demise of his father Shri Surendrasinhji Jhala, the plaintiff continued to enjoy the very reputation on account of his humane approach and for all the good deeds done by him.

2.2 It is also averred that the wife of the plaintiff is also a princess of erstwhile Dharampur State. Considering his family background, educational background, so also the total worth of his property and the respect earned by the family over the period of time, led the plaintiff to institute a suit against the respondent-defendant (hereinafter referred to as 'the defendant') for a complaint lodged by him in the form of an application against the plaintiff in respect of a dispute pertaining to a compound wall in a very peculiar background.

2.3 On the eastern part of the palace of the plaintiff where his family presently resides, land belonging to the plaintiff's family was apportioned into plots and some of these plots have been sold to the third parties. One of these plots was sold to one Shri Lakhubha Kalyansinh in the year 1995 and one of the conditions at the time of sale of such plot was to the effect that on the side of the palace road, no door or window shall be kept by the transferee. Shri Lakhubha Kalyansinh subsequently sold the said plot to one Shri Harendra Chhabildas, from whom mother of the present defendant purchased the said land and constructed the residential house thereon. Mother of the defendant since was desirous to erect a wall on the western side of the said premises, a request was made for additional piece of land from the plaintiff admeasuring 12.27 sq.yds. on the westernside. Pursuant to such a request, a writing was deduced in the form of a Rojkam dated December 05, 1994 signed by mother of the defendant and one employee of the plaintiff. It is the say of the plaintiff that the terms incorporated therein were not adhered to by the mother of the defendant and, therefore, the said writing was not implemented. Without the lawful rights the defendant when made an attempt to encroach upon the land belonging to the plaintiff, the plaintiff pulled down the unauthorised construction with the help of his men and employees. The defendant picked up a quarrel with those persons who were acting at the behest of the plaintiff for removal of encroachment and the plaintiff intervened to resolve the dispute in a peaceful manner. However, the defendant made a written application to lodge a complaint on February 15, 1995 to the Police Inspector, Wadhwan Police Station and a copy of which was forwarded to different di