The main legal point established in the judgment is that the orders for temporary possession of immovable property under Sections 451 and 457 of the Cr.P.C. were outside the contemplation of the law, and the availability of special provisions in Section 456 for restoration of possession of immovable property should have been considered.

Sureshwar Thakur, J.

Respondent No.2 herein/complainant/applicant claimed exclusive possession to the disputed premises wherein he was operating his business of a “Manyari”, on the score of his deceased father Jagdish Chand during his life time having delivered its possession to him. The deceased father of respondent No.2 herein, and of the accused Joginder Singh/petitioner herein, had constructed a house at Ghawandal Chowk, Shri Naina Devi Ji, District Bilaspur comprising of six rooms on the ground floor and two rooms in the upper storey. The rooms in the aforesaid premises are disclosed in the application filed under Sections 451 and 457 of the Cr.P.C. to be in possession of his brother Joginder Singh/petitioner herein. However, one room in the upper storey is averred in the aforesaid application to be in the possession of the complainant/respondent No.2 herein. The business of a “Manyari” is averred to be operated by respondent No.2 from the said room in the upper storey since the last 20 to 25 years by him even during the life time of his deceased father Jagdish Chand. However, on 16.01.2009, when respondent No.2 herein/applicant before the learned trial Court had gone to Hissar, he on his returning to his native place had on 18.01.2009 proceeded to at about 7.00 p.m. open the shutter of his shop, then his brother Joginder Singh, his wife Smt. Usha, his sons Arun and Rohit and his daughter Suman allegedly attacked him with lathis and also abused him and threatened to do away with his life. A report qua the incident was lodged with the police post concerned which resulted in the recording of FIR No.14/09 of 19.01.2009 at Police Post Shri Naina Devi Ji under Police Station Kot Kehloor, District Bilaspur, H.P. The alleged offences constituted in the FIR arising from the incriminatory/penal acts of the accused were recorded therein to be falling under Sections 147, 148, 323, 448, 504, 506 read with Section 149, IPC. In consequence to the lodging of the FIR, the police sealed the disputed shop as accused Joginder Singh had installed his two locks upon the lock of the respondent No.2/complainant. The police had taken into possession the keys of the locks put on the shop by respondent No.2 herein as well as by accused/petitioner herein from their respective possession. The premises from where respondent No.2 operated his business of “Manyari” having come to be sealed by the police constrained the respondent No.2, to institute an application under Sections 451 and 457 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 before the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bilaspur claiming the relief therein that the disputed premises sealed by the police be unsealed so as to facilitate him to operate his business of “Manyari”. The learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bilaspur on considering the material on record comprised, in the no objection furnished by the learned APP to the application being allowed besides, the statement of the accused Joginder Singh revealing therein that in consonance with a compromise effected before the Gram Panchayat concerned inter se him and the complainant/respondent No.2 herein, the disputed shop/premises was to remain allotted or consequentially in possession of respondent No.2 herein only for 11 months, whereafter it is to be vacated, was constrained to allow the application preferred by the applicant/respondent No.2 herein. A direction was also rendered by the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate to the Station House Officer of the police station concerned to unseal the sealed premises and handover its temporary possession to the applicant/respondent No.2 herein till the conclusion of the trial of the case arising from the lodging of the FIR No.14 of 2009. The handing over of the temporary possession of the disputed shop/premises by the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate to the applicant/respondent No.2 herein was also subject to the condition of the latter furnishing a supurdari bond in the sum of Rs.1,00,000/-