The central legal point established in the judgment is the difficulty in establishing ownership and title of disputed land due to the lack of official documents and the challenges in providing strict documentary proof of possession.

Heard Sri Mohd. Arif Khan, senior advocate, assisted by Sri Mohd. Aslam Khan, learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned standing counsel for the State of U. P. and Sri R. N. Gupta, for Gaon Sabha.

2. The petitioner No. 1 Brijanand Pandey and petitioner No. 3 Janardan Pandey, have died and their legal heirs have been substituted in the writ petition. The writ petition was flled on 20.5.1996. Time was granted to the learned standing counsel for State and Sri R. N. Gupta, for Gaon Sabha to file counter-affidavit on 21.5.1996 itself. Almost fifteen years have passed, State has not filed any counter-affidavit. However, counter-affidavit filed by Gaon Sabha is on record.

Parties have been heard at length.

3. The petitioners have challenged the judgment and order dated 8.9.1995 passed by the Board of Revenue ; the order dated 3.8.1990 passed by the Record Officer, Balia and the order dated 13.8.1985 passed by the Assistant Record Officer, Balia contained in Annexures-13, 11 and 9 respectively, to the extent that they have disallowed the claim of the petitioner.

4. The case of the petitioners is as follows :

The village-Shobhapur, pargana Tehsil and district Ballia is situated at the bank of river Ganga of which 1st record operation was held in the year 1840 and the total area of disputed plot was 286 bit/has 3 bistuas and 3 dhurs, i.e., 186 acres which is existing till today as it is, but due to wrong measurements of Survey Authorities of the district of Ballia, its area has been reduced to only 178.35 acres, which is liable to be corrected in the Revenue Maps and records as 286 bighas 3 biswas and 3 dhurs.

Previously, this total land was recorded in the name of Ram Sahodar Pandey, the ancestor of the petitioners and that he remained in possession as such.

The said village is situated on the bank of river Ganga and due to cutting and changing of the current of the river Ganga, the disputed land has usually been changing its location and territory towards North or South of the river Ganga, some time in Bihar and sometime in Uttar Pradesh because the mid-stream of river Ganga was deciding point of the boundary of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar States.

Prior to the application of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar Boundaries Act, 1968, the law of Dhoor Dhara was in application. According to the Dhoor Dhara Rules, the territory of this land was decided from the mid-stream of the river Ganga because the mid#31;stream of the said river was the deciding point of territorial jurisdiction of Uttar Pradesh towards North and Bihar towards. South, without affecting the rights and titles of zamindar or kastkars according to law.

Due to change of current of river Ganga, the village went in the territory of the district Shahabad in the State of Bihar in the year 1930-31 from the district Ballia and again in the year 1936-37, it came in the territory of the district of Ballia in Uttar Pradesh and again in the year 1938, this land went in Bihar. This fact is well proved from the records filed in the lower courts.

In the year 1938, in Bihar, the Sun set law was applicable to deposit the revenue amount and it was not deposited by Ram Sahodar Pandey, the ancestor of the petitioners and he was removed from the Zamindari rights of the said land of village Shobhapur and the Maharaja of Dumariaon took the auction and became the sole zamindar of the said village and he was recorded as Zamindar in the Khewat on the basis of sale certificate dated 1.11. 1934 as auction-purchaser. On account of this incidence, litigation between Maharaj of Dumareon and the ancestor of the petitioners, viz. Ram Sahodar Pandey was started in the civil courts. The said suit was ultimately decided in terms of compromise arrived at between the parties in which the petitioners accepted Maharaja of Dumareon as Zamindar of the said village and Maharaja of Dumareon accepted the petitioner as his tenants (Kastkars) and executed pattaistamarari dated 28.5.1951 in favour of the petitione