IMPORTANT POINT : Demarcation of land – Once land is identified and defined, its limits are automatically defined.

Judgment

Ali Mohammad Magrey, J.—This LPA has been filed against the judgment and order dated 27.04.2022 passed by the learned Single Judge in writ petition, WP(C) No.935/2021, declining the relief prayed for by the appellant therein.

2. The private parties to this lis have been engaged in this litigation for quite some time. The dispute pertains to land measuring 3 Kanals falling in Survey no.318 min Khewat no.37 (01 Kanal and 10 Marlas) and Survey no.319 min Khewat no.56 (01 Kanal and 10 Marlas) situated in estate Watduru, Galwanpora, Tehsil, Budgam. Respondents 8 to 10 herein claim to have purchased the aforesaid land through sale deeds executed on 07.10.1991 and 07.09.1993, respectively. It is seen that in the first round of litigation before this Court, the private respondents 8 to 10 herein on 31.07.2018 filed writ petition, OWP no.1454/2018, alleging therein that there was a huge chunk of land which was in illegal occupation of some people, including land mafia in the area and that these people, having patronage of the official respondents therein, namely, the revenue officials, were unnecessarily disputing their ownership/possession vis-a-vis the Survey Numbers, Khewat Numbers and measurement of the aforesaid land measuring 3 Kanals purchased by them. They sought a direction to the official respondents therein to demarcate and identify their land measuring 03 Kanals as per the particulars given in the sale deeds. That writ petition was disposed of by the Court vide order dated 03.08.2018 with direction to the official respondents therein to treat the writ partition as representation on behalf of the writ petitioners therein and decide the same in light of the annexures appended thereto within a period of four weeks.

3. Subsequent to the above, respondents 8 to 10 herein filed another writ petition, being OWP no.2393/2018, before this Court. That writ petition was dismissed by the Court by order dated 26.12.2018. Perusal of the said Court order dated 26.12.2018 reveals that respondents 8 to 10 had in that writ petition averred that in consideration of the order of the Court dated 03.08.2018 passed in OWP no.1454/2018, the Tehsildar vide communication dated 26.10.2018 directed the Naib Tehsildar, Humhama, to verify the matter under rules and take due course of action under law. It was further contended that a team of officers was constituted who visited the spot and found that the dispute between the respondents 8 to 10 herein and one Bashir Ahmad and Owais Abid could only be sorted out by appropriate demarcation of the land. In para 7 of the aforesaid Court order, the Court observed that the grievance of the petitioners was that one Bashir Ahmad and Owais Abid had encroached upon their land which had been taken note of by the revenue authorities who had pointed out that the dispute could be settled only by proper demarcation. Respondents 8 to 10 in the aforesaid writ petition had made the prayer that the official respondents therein, i.e., the revenue authorities, be commanded to identify the 03 Kanals of land in question, to conclude the process already undertaken by them and to handover the possession of the patch of land to them. As mentioned above, the writ petition was dismissed as being not maintainable with liberty to the writ petitioners therein to approach the competent revenue authority for seeking demarcation of their land, observing that in case any such application was filed by the petitioners the concerned revenue authorities shall dispose of the same expeditiously in terms of the provisions of the Land Revenue Act, 1939 AD (hereinafter, the Act) and Rules framed thereunder.

4. The private respondents 8, 9 and 10 again approached this Court through Writ petition, OWP no.3095/2019, with the prayer to command the official respondents to handover the possession of the aforesaid 03 Kanals of