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PUNJAB & HARYANA HIGH COURT
T.S.Thakur and Jasbir Singh JJ.
Rai Jasbir Singh
Versus
State Of Haryana
Letter Patent Appeal No. 264 of 2005,
Decided On : JULY 31, 2009
Abuse of Legal Process - Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act - 1953 - [FACT OF THE CASE] This case involves a dispute over land ownership and possession, with the appellants challenging orders for their ejectment from the land. The private respondents, who became owners of the land in 1972, have been fighting litigation for about 37 years to gain possession of their land. The appellants have been in possession of the land as lessees for over three decades. [FINDING OF THE COURT] The court found that the appellants had abused the legal process to frustrate the rights of the private respondents and had failed to comply with orders and prolong the litigation. [ISSUES] The issues included the validity of the partition proceedings, the rights of the parties, and the abuse of legal process. [RATIO DECIDENDI] The court held that the appellants' prolonged unauthorized possession and misuse of the legal process warranted their ejectment. The court also emphasized that the partition order was valid and that the appellants' attempts to challenge it were unreasonable. [FINAL DECISION] The court dismissed the appeal and upheld the orders for the appellants' ejectment, imposing costs on the appellants.
Jasbir Singh, J.
1. This appeal is a classic example of how a determined (chronic) litigant can frustrate rights of his opponent, by abuse of the legal process. The private respondents became owners of land measuring about 24 acres in the year 1972. They are out of possession, fighting litigation for the last about 37 years and yet not sure as to when they will get possession of their land.
2. The appellants have filed this Letters Patent Appeal against the judgment dated 25.5.2005, passed by a learned Single Bench of this Court, dismissing Civil Writ Petition No. 3105 of 1996, filed by them. In that writ petition, the appellants had laid challenge to the orders passed by the Assistant Collector, Collector, Commissioner, Financial Commissioner of State of Haryana (Annexure P1 to P4), ordering/ confirming their ejectment from the land comprised in Khewat No. 280 Khatoni No. 344, Khasra No. 25// 24, 25, 31//6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 31//14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 30//4, 5, 6, 7, 14, 15, 16, 17, 24//2, 25, situated in village Gumthala Garhu, district Kurukshetra. Brief admitted facts
3. One Mann Singh was owner of the land measuring 250 kanals, which includes the land in dispute, situated in village Gumthala Garhu and Dhulgarh, district Kurukshetra, State of Haryana. As per the provisions of Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953 (in short, the Act), a vast track of land, owned by him, was declared surplus. In the month of June 1955, Mann Singh leased out 568 kanals 12 marlas of land to appellant No. 1 Rai Jasbir Singh, for a period of 20 years i.e. upto Rabi 1975. Around 1958, Maan Singh sold 568 kanals 12 marlas of land i.e. the entire leased out land, to Dalip Singh, Dalip Kaur and Swaran Singh vide separate registered sale deeds. Mann Singh had two daughters, namely, Mohinder Kaur and Kirpal Kaur. Smt. Mohinder Kaur filed a Civil Suit for possession, by way of preemption, for the above mentioned land. Her suit was decreed in the year 1962. She was declared owner of the land measuring 568 kanals 12 marlas. In the year 1964-65, Maan Singh died. Out of land measuring 568 kanals 12 marlas, Mohinder Kaur made a gift deed of 13 acres of land to Gurdwara Bohli Sahib, Pehowa. She sold 10 acres of land to Niranjan Singh, Jarnail Singh and others (they are not parties to the present proceedings). Out of remaining 48 acres of land, she gifted 24 acres of land to her sister Kirpal Kaur in the month of June 1972. Private respondents, namely, Waryam Singh, Balwant Singh, Darshan Singh, Amarjit Singh and Dalip Singh, exchanged 24 acres of land with Smt.Mohinder Kaur and became owner/co- sharers in the property, in dispute. It is also an admitted fact that during this entire period, appellant No. 1, namely, Rai Jasbir Singh remained in possession of 568 kanals 12 marlas of land as a lessee.
4-5 The private respondents, on 11.9.1974, filed an application for partition of the land, by separating their share, before the Assistant Collector Ist Grade Guhla (Annexure PA). That application was filed against Smt. Kirpal Kaur daughter of Mann Singh and Niranjan Singh etc. She failed to appear and was proceeded ex-parte. After filing of this application, Smt. Kirpal Kaur sold 10 acres of land to appellant No. 1, who then moved an application on 27.5.1975 (Annexure PC) to become a party in the pending partition proceedings. His application was allowed vide order dated 30.5.1975 (Annexure PD) and the matter was adjourned to 16.6.1975 to file objection regarding proposed partition. On 16.6.1975, following order was passed by the Court of Assistant Collector Ist Grade Guhla :-
"No objection has been filed against the plan-J. Rai Jasbir Singh says that another Advocate from Kaithal is coming. But, he has neither filed any objection nor produced any power of attorney. Under these circumstances no more time can be given to the respondent. Plan-J seen, accordingly mode of partition admitted to be correct. Therefore, partition is confirmed. File may
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