Under Section 6 of the Specific Relief Act, courts can only adjudicate possession issues and not title disputes in cases of dispossession within six months.

Order :

1. Heard the parties.

2. The plaintiffs/respondents brought case No.18/2004 under Section 6 of the Specific Relief Act which has been decreed by the impugned judgment dated 25.11.2005.

3. Contention of the defendants/petitioners is that the trial court has exceeded in exercise of its jurisdiction and has decided so many issues; including issue of title, which was not permissible under Section 6 of the Specific Relief Act .

4. Section 6 of the Specific Relief Act reads as follows:-

“6. Suit by person dispossessed of immovable property.—

(1) If any person is dispossessed without his consent of immovable property otherwise than in due course of law, he or any person [through whom he has been in possession or any person] claiming through him may, by suit, recover possession thereof, notwithstanding any other title that may be set up in such suit.

(2) No suit under this section shall be brought—

(a) after the expiry of six months from the date of dispossession; or (b) against the Government.

(3) No appeal shall lie from any order or decree passed in any suit instituted under this section, nor shall any review of any such order or decree be allowed.

(4) Nothing in this section shall bar any person from suing to establish his title to such property and to recover possession thereof.”

5. The learned trial judge framed following issues:-

Issue No.1- Whether the plaintiffs were in possession of the property mentioned in column No. 12 of the plaint measuring 27 x 50 feet before 13.06.2001 and was dispossessed by the defendant illegally though defendant No.2 had no property left thereat after he sold his share to some other person.

Submission is that only the aforesaid issue could have been decided under Section 6 of the Specific Relief Act , however, the learned trial judge clubbed two more issues with issue No.1 and took up altogether 8 material issues which read as follows:-

Issue No.2- Whether the property mentioned in column No.3 was divided by the referred persons and was converted from agricultural land to residential land and remaining property, measuring 90 x 100 = 9,000 square feet remained with the plaintiffs.

Issue No.3 - Whether plaintiffs sold some of the portion of the property to different persons and the southern – most portion, measuring 90 X 50 feet referred in column No.6 of the plaint remained with the plaintiffs.

Issue No.4 - Whether plaintiff No.1 had issued authority in favour of Jaichand in respect of property mentioned in column No.7 and the act of plaintiff No.1 was not affecting the right of plaintiff Nos.2, 3 and 4.

Issue No.5 - Whether the adjoining land is more than 9,000 square feet and the plaintiff had only 6,000 square feet.

Issue No. 6 - Whether the people referred in column 12 where only Khatedars of the suit property.

Issue No. 7 - Whether all the four plaintiffs had sold 6280 square feet, whereas, the plaintiffs were in possession of 12405 square feet.

Issue no.8 - Whether the suit was filed within a period of limitation of six months.”

6. Learned counsel for the respondents submits that the main issue No.1 was decided against the respondents and in favour of the plaintiffs, therefore, decision on other issues may be ignored because the trial court has found that the plaintiffs were dispossessed from the referred area of the plot within six months.

7. As per provisions of Section 6 of the Specific Relief Act , the suit for recovery of possession when the plaintiffs were dispossessed within six months of bringing the suit would confine to adjudication, whether the plaintiffs were in possession within six months of the suit over the land from which the plaintiffs were forcefully dispossessed. The Court exercising jurisdiction under Section 6 of the Specific Relief Act cannot go beyond that.

8. Hence, the impugned judgment stands hereby set aside and the matter is remitted back to the learned trial judge to decide the suit afresh according to law.

9. Accordingly, this civil revision petition stands disposed of.