IN THE HIGH COURT OF ALLAHABAD
A. P. Srivastava, J.
RAJ SINGH - Appellant
Versus
CH.GAJRAJ SINGH - Respondents
Second Appeal 1857 Of 1956
Decided On : 09/03/1957
NUISANCE - BRICK KILN - INJUNCTION - SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE - INJURY TO GROVE - INJUNCTION ISSUED.
Fact of the Case:
The plaintiff, Gajraj Singh, owned a grove situated near the defendant's brick kiln. The plaintiff alleged that the smoke from the kiln was damaging his trees and fruits, and causing health problems for his family. He filed a suit seeking damages and an injunction to restrain the defendant from operating the kiln.
Finding of the Court:
The trial court found that the smoke from the kiln was causing damage to the plaintiff's grove and that the defendant was liable for nuisance. The court granted the plaintiff damages of Rs. 40 and issued an injunction restraining the defendant from operating the kiln within 500 yards of the plaintiff's grove.
Issues: 1. Whether the defendant's brick kiln was causing substantial damage to the plaintiff's grove? 2. Whether the plaintiff was entitled to an injunction restraining the defendant from operating the kiln?
Ratio Decidendi: 1. The court held that the smoke from the kiln was causing substantial damage to the plaintiff's grove. The court relied on the testimony of expert witnesses who testified that the smoke contained harmful ingredients that could damage plant life. The court also found that the plaintiff's trees and fruits were showing signs of damage, such as drying up and blacktip disease. 2. The court held that the plaintiff was entitled to an injunction restraining the defendant from operating the kiln. The court found that the damage to the plaintiff's grove was substantial and that the plaintiff had no adequate remedy at law. The court also found that the defendant had not taken any steps to mitigate the damage caused by the kiln.
Final Decision: The court dismissed the defendant's appeal and the plaintiff's cross-objection. The court upheld the trial court's decree granting the plaintiff damages of Rs. 40 and issuing an injunction restraining the defendant from operating the kiln within 500 yards of the plaintiff's grove.
( 1 ) THIS appeal and cross-objection arise out of a suit to recover damages and to get a permanent injunction issued.
( 2 ) THE respondent Gajraj Singh resides in the abadi of village Jalalabad and owns a grove situated on plot No. 793 of that village. The grove contains mango, guava, kamrakh and papaya trees and used to yield a profit of about Rs. 1,000 per annum to its owner. The appellant Raj singh obtained a lease of plot No. 766 of the village and about four years before the institution of the suit which has given rise to this appeal started a bhatta for the construction of bricks an that plot. According to Gajraj Singh, this bhatta is situated at a distance of about!. 200 yards from the grove and about 100 feet from the village abadi where his residential house is situated. The Bhatta had been started in contravention of the bye-laws framed by the District Board in that respect. The smoke from the bhatta adversely affects the plaintiffs grove and causes damage to its trees and fruits. The smoke has also an adverse effect on the health of the plaintiff and the other members of his family. The defendant was asked to remove the bhatta to a place sufficiently away from the plaintiffs house and grove. He did not comply with the request. The plaintiff, there-fore, sued to recover Rs. 2000 as damages and claimed a mandatory injunction directing the defendant to run his bhatta at a distance of at least 500 yards from the grove and the house of the plaintiff.
( 3 ) THE suit was contested by the defendant who pleaded that the bhatta had no adverse effect on the plaintiffs grove and was not injurious to the health of the plaintiff and the members of his family in any way. The plaintiff had not suffered any loss of any kind. He also pleaded that the suit was barred by estoppel and acquiescence and that the plaintiff was not entitled to the injunction claimed. He alleged that the suit had been filed on account of enmity.
( 4 ) BEFORE the learned Munsif who tried the suit both the parties produced evidence in support of their respective contentions. The witnesses examined included two experts produced by the plaintiff and two produced by the defendant. The plaintiffs experts were Sri S. B. Mathur, smoke Inspector of the Kanpur Municipal Board, and Sri Rajpal Singh, the Assistant mycologist, Fruit Research Station,. Saharanpur. The defendants experts were Sri Teja Singh, deputy Director of Horticulture, Central P. W. D. , New Delhi and Sri G. S. Randhawa, Lecturer in Horticulture in the Agricultural Institute at Pqosa, The Munsif himself inspected the place twice.
( 5 ) AFTER a consideration of the entire materials on the record that were put before him, the learned Munsif recorded the following findings:
1. That the plaintiffs grove was situated at a distance of about 200 yards from the defendants bhatta. The defendants case that the distance between the two was about 350 to 400 yards was not correct.
2. That the grove of the plaintiff was within such distance from the bhatta of the defendant that the smoke coming from the chimney of the bhatta of the defendant was sure to harm the grove of the plaintiff.
3. That the plaintiffs grove had actually been damaged by the smoke and the fumes coming out of the defendants bhatta. A large number off guava fruits were found lying under the trees in dried and charred condition-showing that they had been affected by the smoke. The twigs and branches of the mango trees showed signs of drying up. The guava and the papaya trees did not bear fully developed fruits. The mango fruits produced by the trees in the grove showed signs of a disease known as the blacktip disease which was caused by the effect of the smoke. This damage to the plaintiffs grove was the result of the smoke of the defendants bhatta. It could not be attributed to the want of proper care of the grove on behalf of the plaintiff as was alleged to be the case by the defendant.
4. That the plaintiff had not been ab
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