HIGH COURT OF ALLAHBAD
KIDWAI, J.
Rudan
Versus
Ujagar Singh
Appln. No.56 of 1947
Decided On : 26-10-1951
Specific Relief Act - Jurisdiction of Civil Court - Summary: The court addressed the jurisdiction of the civil court to try a suit under Section 9 of the Specific Relief Act. It considered previous judgments and interpretations to conclude that the civil court had jurisdiction in the present case, as the suit did not fall under the provisions of the U.P. Tenancy Act.
Fact of the Case:
Th. Ujagar Singh and Shrimati Jagrani claimed wrongful dispossession by Rudan Chamar and sought possession under Section 9 of the Specific Relief Act. The defense claimed that the plaintiffs were never in possession and that the defendant had been in possession as a tenant.
Finding of the Court:
The trial court found in favor of the plaintiffs, upholding their possession and dispossession within six months. It also determined that the civil court had jurisdiction to try the case, which was affirmed in the revision.
Issues: The main issues were the possession of the land, wrongful dispossession, and the jurisdiction of the civil court to try the suit under Section 9 of the Specific Relief Act.
Ratio Decidendi: The court relied on previous judgments and interpretations to establish that the civil court had jurisdiction in the present case, as the suit did not fall under the provisions of the U.P. Tenancy Act.
Final Decision: The application for revision was dismissed, affirming the trial court's decision in favor of the plaintiffs.
2. The defence was that the plaintiffs had never been in possession and that the defendant had all along been in possession as a tenant. It was also alleged that the plaintiffs alone were not the owners, but that other co-sharers were also owners and so the suit did not lie.
3. The trial court upheld the pleas of the plaintiffs and found that they had been in possession and had been dispossessed within six months of the institution of the suit. One of the pleas taken before the court was that the civil court had no jurisdiction. The learned Munsif found that the suit fell within his jurisdiction since it was one under S.9, Specific Relief Act.
4. Rudan has now come up in revision and his learned Advocate contends that the civil court had no jurisdiction to try the case.
5. It has been laid down in - Rajai Singh v. Suraj Bali, AIR 1942 Oudh 179 (A); - Jadunath Singh v. Bishunath Singh, 1950 All LJ 288 (B) and - Jagdish Singh v. Mehi Lal, 1950 All LJ 645 (C) that the suit under S.9, Specific Relief Act, lies in a civil court and that the jurisdiction of that court is not barred by reason of S.242, U.P. Tenancy Act read with Ss.180 and 183 of that Act.
6. This view has been slightly modified in - Ganga Din v. Gokul Prasad, AIR 1950 All 407 (D) and it has been held that if the plaint shows that the case falls within S.180 or S.183, U.P. Tenancy Act, the suit would be barred from cognizance by the civil court by reason of S.242, even if it was a suit under S.9, Specific Relief Act. This latter judgment does not consider the earlier judgments, particularly the judgment in 1950 All LJ 288 (B), which was also a Bench decision. It is, however, not necessary for me to go into that question, because, in the present case, the jurisdiction of the civil court is not barred, even if the view taken in AIR 1950 All 407 (D) is applied.
7. It is true that in paragraph 1 of the plaint it is stated that the plaintiffs are the owners of the land. This, however, does not indicate that the suit is one governed by S.180, U.P. Tenancy Act. It has been laid down in - D.N. Rege v. Muhammad Haider, AIR 1946 All 379 (FB) (E) by a Full Bench that it is only in suits in which it is alleged in the Dlaint that the defendant is setting up title to hold the land as tenant that the civil court has no jurisdiction. If there is no such allegation then the civil court will have jurisdiction, because the revenue court is not competent to decide questions of title between two rival claimants to the possession of the property. In the present case there is no allegation to the effect that the defendant claims to be the tenant, but what is alleged is that the defendant has unlawfully ejected the plaintiffs from possession. Thus, in view of the Full Bench decision, this is not a case which falls under S.180, U.P. Tenancy Act, and consequently S.242 of that Act does not apply. That being so, even on the reasoning adopted in AIR 1950 All 407 (D), civil courts jurisdiction was not barred.
8. This application, therefore, fails and is dismissed with costs.
Revision dismissed.
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