The reserved village path was meant for exercising easementary rights, and the petitioners could seek demarcation if aggrieved. No evidence of obstruction to the petitioners' easementary rights was found.

JUDGMENT

Sureshwar Thakur, J. - Factual Background

1. After the finalization of the consolidation proceedings in the mohal concerned, though rasta/path was reserved for the exercising thereons of easementary rights by the land owners concerned, but the petitioners became yet aggrieved, owing to the factum that the said rasta/path rather not providing the relevant access to the petitioners. The said claim was founded qua the reserved rasta/path being used by them being very small, in size, and, that there being an interruption caused by trees and plants inter-se the earmarked path, to the fields of the petitioner. Further, the access to their agricultural land through the said rasta/path was claimed to be not straight and the petitioners being led to cross a Khal through a temporary constructed way.

2. Therefore, to facilitate the exercising of easementary rights at the instance of the aggrieved, the son of petitioner no. 1 and petitioner no. 2, made a prayer that at the relevant place after increasing the appositely assigned karams from 1-5 to 1-15, the apposite corrections be made in the revenue records. The above prayer was ventilated through theirs rearing a petition under Section 42 of the East Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation Act, 1948 (hereinafter for short call 'the Act'), before the learned Director Land Records, Punjab, Jalandhar, petition whereof is appended as Annexure P-2 to the instant petition.

Order on the petition, as carried in Annexure P-2.

3. After considering the entire records, through an order, as carried in Annexure P-4, the learned Director Land Records, Punjab, made an order of remand of the lis to the District Revenue Officer-cum-Consolidation Officer but with a direction that the parties concerned, be heard, spot inspection be done, and, the records be looked into, and, as the passage is existing at the spot, hence the same way be kept intact in the record. Furthermore, a direction was given that in case the proposed correction causes any harm/loss to anyone, then the aggrieved shall be given an opportunity of hearing, at his own level.

Verdict of the Remandee Court

4. Through an order, as comprised in Annexure P-5, the learned Remandee Court, after giving an opportunity to all the litigants concerned, and, also after perusing all the relevant records, it came to a conclusion that the rasta/passage earmarked in the consolidation proceedings, and, the khal are respectively existing at their respectively assigned sites. The passage at the spot was concluded to be going straight, and, that there was no need of any alteration of any kind being made. Further, since there was difference in calculation of the area in the carved out khasra no. 862/1, therefore, the learned Remandee Court ordered the correction of the area of the Khasra number concerned in the field book Isatkharaj.

Appeal against the verdict of the Remandee Court

5. The aggrieved concerned, preferred an appeal against the order, as carried in Annexure P-5, before the learned Deputy Director Records-cum-Management Officer, Consolidation Punjab, Jalandhar. In the apposite appeal, the authority concerned through an order, as comprised in Annexure P-6, after hearing both the parties, and after perusing the record hence proceeded to dismiss the apposite appeal.

Appeal against the verdict of the Management Officer, Consolidation Punjab, Jalandhar.

6. Thereafter, the aggrieved-petitioners preferred an appeal against the order, comprised in Annexure P-6, before the learned Director Land Records, Punjab, Jalandhar, thereons, the learned appellate authority concerned, through an order embodied in Annexure P-7, also dismissed the appeal of the aggrieved petitioners.

7. Since a dis-affirmative verdict, appended as Annexure P-7 to the instant petition, became made recorded thereons, thus, the petitioners have been led to rear a challenge thereto, through theirs' instituting the instant petition.

Submissions of the learned counsel for the