The appellate Court will not interfere with the trial Court's discretion unless it is exercised arbitrarily or capriciously, reaffirming the principles governing interim injunctions.

JUDGMENT :

Bipin Chander Negi, J.

1. Heard counsel for the parties. Perused the pleadings and record.

2. Admittedly, in the case at hand, the petitioner, who is the plaintiff before the trial Court had purchased an area/RCC lintel measuring 85.70 sq. mtrs. in the first floor of the building known as Butail building from the respondent vide registered sale deed dated 27.02.2010. The same is located on a portion of land comprised in Khasra No.547. The balance land in the said khasra number is vacant. The vacant land is owned and possessed by the respondents.

3. The petitioner/plaintiff is claiming a path to his property emanating from Khasra No.587. After emanating from the aforesaid khasra number, the path is stated to run through Khasra Nos.554, 555 and 557 and a vacant area of the suit landbearing Khasra No.547 at points A, B, C, D, E, F, G & H, as shown in the site, plan got prepared by the petitioner/plaintiff from Er. Sh. B.C. Sharma.

4. Per contra, respondents contend that there is a common path leading to the property purchased by the petitioner/plaintiff through Khasra Nos.527 and 564 leading upto Khasra No.547.

5. In the aforesaid facts and attending circumstances, the trial Court while passing an order under Order 39 Rule 1 and 2 CPC, restrained the present respondents from blocking the path leading to the property of the petitioner from Khasra No.587 till the disposal of the main suit. Besides the aforesaid, the learned trial Court restrained the present petitioner/plaintiff by way of an ad interim injunction from causing any type of interference over the portion of the suit land comprised in Khasra No.547 except the land/property so sold to him i.e. 85.70 sq. meters in the first floor of the building known as Butail building (RCC Lintel).

6. Two appeals were preferred, one by the present petitioner and the other by the present respondents before the First Appellate Court. The First Appellate Court modified the order insofar as it restrained the respondent from restraining/blocking the path leading to the house of the petitioner from Khasra No.587.

7. The path emanating from Khasra No.587, as is being claimed by the present petitioner/plaintiff has been depicted in the site plan placed on record. As pointed out correctly by the First Appellate Court that at this initial stage, the same cannot be looked into, as it has yet to be proved by the petitioner/plaintiff by way of leading evidence at the appropriate stage. To the contrary, the respondents have placed on record revenue record prepared by officials and discharge of their public duty i.e. Nakal Aks Tatima Sajra Kistwar, wherefrom it is evident that there is a common path leading to the house of the petitioner/plaintiff through Khasra No.527 and 564. The said document carries with it a presumption of truth. Perusal of the sale deed clearly reflects that when the petitioner had purchased a portion of the lintel in the first floor of the building, the respondents had disclosed to him about the pending dispute of a passage with Mr. Vijay Vashishta from land comprising Khasra Nos.554, 555 and 557.

8. Learned counsel for the petitioner has drawn the attention of this Court to the fact that the path passing through Khasra No.564 is stated to have been blocked. In this regard, he has drawn the attention of this Court to page 216 of the paper book (record of the trial Court) wherein vide letter dated 20.02.2017, the Architect Planner while considering the plan of the respondents has raised an issue with respect to the path on Khasra No.564 being blocked. As already stated supra, the path passing through Khasra No.564 has been shown to be a public path in the revenue record. Remedy for removal of encroachment of the public path is to be availed by a person aggrieved in accordance with law. The same however does not establish the fact that there is no path passing through Khasra No.564. In fact, blockade of a path means that there is path in existence over Khasra No.564

9. The first