Point of Law: This Court also concurs with the submissions made by learned counsel for the respondents that in exercise of its powers under Article 227 of the Constitution of India.

JUDGMENT :

By way of this petition, filed under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, the petitioners have prayed for quashing of order dated 23.08.2017, passed by the Court of learned Senior Civil Judge, Kinnaur at Recong Peo, District Kinnaur, H.P., in a miscellaneous application filed under Order 6, Rule 17 read with Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure, in Civil Suit No.11-R/1 of 1999/2014, titled as Jumla Jamindaran Village Pangi & others Versus Jumla Jamindaran Village Telangi & others, by the private defendants therein, vide which, said application filed for amendment of the written statement was allowed by the learned Court below.

2. Brief facts necessary for the adjudication of the present petition are as under:-

A Civil Suit stands filed by the petitioners/plaintiffs, for declaration to the effect that the plaintiffs have customary rights over the suit land and the order to the contrary passed by Settlement Collector is bad in law and liable to be set aside and the defendants have no right over the suit land.

3. Record demonstrates that earlier a suit was filed in the year 1984 by the plaintiffs and decreed on 26.06.1987. In appeal, the learned District Judge remanded the case to the learned Trial Court on the question of jurisdiction and the court of learned Senior Sub Judge, Kinnaur at Recong Peo, District Kinnaur, H.P., vide judgment dated 30.08.1994 held the suit to be beyond the pecuniary jurisdiction of the said Court and the plaint was returned for its proper presentation. Thereafter, the suit was filed in the Court of learned District Judge, Kinnaur, H.P., which was decreed on 03.10.2001. The defendants filed an appeal, i.e. RFA No.450 of 2001 before this Court, which appeal was allowed vide judgment dated 30.05.2014 and the matter was remanded back to the learned District Judge for decision afresh after impleading the State of Himachal Praesh as a defendant. The suit thereafter stood transferred to the Court of learned Civil Judge (Senior Division), Kinnaur, on account of the change of the pecuniary jurisdiction of the learned Courts. Thereafter, the State of Himachal Pradesh stood impleaded as a party defendant and written statement to the suit was filed by the newly added defendant, which is dated 24.09.2014. An application was filed under Order 6, Rule 17 read with Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure by the original defendants, seeking amendment in the written statement to the following effect:-

“a. That in preliminary objections add “new para 5” and further add words “That the suit of the plaintiffs is hopelessly time barred since the plaintiffs are challenging the order of settlement Collector decided on 02.09.1983 in the suit being filed on 23rd day of October, 1999, hence same is liable to be dismissed on this score only.”

b. In para 3 after the last word alleged add words “there is a passage having constructed by cutting rocks through Kacha Dhank, which have been used since time immemorial for to and fro to the suit land by khewatdarans of Village Telangi for exercising their customary rights.”

4. It was mentioned in the application that on account of inadvertence at the time of drafting the written statement, defendants could not put forth their plea of accessibility of the suit land through a path passing through ‘Kacha Dhank’, which stood constructed by cutting of rocks and which was in use for to and from the suit land by Khewatdarans of village Talangi for exercising customary rights over the suit land since time immemorial. It was further pleaded in the application that the challenge to the order of the Settlement Collector by way of a suit filed by the plaintiffs was time barred as the order stood passed by the Settlement Collector on 02.09.1983, whereas the suit stood filed on 23.10.1999, therefore, plea of limitation was sought to be taken. On these pleas, a prayer was made by the defendants for permission to amend the written statement. This application is dated 25.09.2014.

5. The