The judgment emphasizes the importance of evidence and certified documents in establishing property rights, and the consequences of failing to substantiate claims.

JUDGMENT

Sharad Kumar Sharma, J. - The appellant before this Court, is a defendant in the Original Suit, being O.S. No.415/1992, "Raghunath Das vs. Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam Ltd.", whereby the Original Suit No.415/1992, "Raghunath Das vs. Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam Ltd.", which has been preferred by the plaintiffs/respondents, for the grant of decree of permanent injunction, mandatory injunction and eviction, was decreed by the court of Civil Judge, (Senior Division)/ FTC 6, Dehradun, by one of the impugned order and judgment dated 29.05.2001, which is presently under challenged before this Court. The aforesaid judgment, which was rendered by the trial court, was subsequently put to challenge in civil appeal, being Civil Appeal No.86/2001, "Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam Ltd., vs. Raghunath Das" and the same too had met with the same destiny, resulting into the dismissal of the appeal vide judgment and order dated 20.03.2018, which was passed by court of learned 2nd Additional District Judge, Dehradun. Hence, the present second appeal has been preferred before this Court.

2. The precise fact, which engages consideration before this Court in the present second appeal is that the plaintiffs/respondents, herein, as per the plaint averments has submitted that they are the purchaser of the property, having purchased the same from its predecessor owner Harbansh Kaur, by virtue of the registered sale deed dated 08.07.1970, and on the southern part of the land in question, there exists a 25 feet wide passage, which was alleged in the plaint to be utilized by the plaintiffs, by way of an easementary rights for their ingress and egress for quite a sufficient long period.

3. The cause of action as contended by the plaintiff/respondents, to institute the suit was contended to have arisen on the ground that the defendants have started raising a construction by encroaching upon the pathway in question by raising a wall and thus they would be creating an obstruction in the use of the passage. Hence, the suit in question was filed with a prayer that the defendants may be directed to demolish the wall and also not to wrongfully interfere into the peaceful possession of the property in question, which was conveyed to the plaintiffs/respondents by virtue of the sale deed dated 08.07.1970. Apart from it, a decree for damages, which was also claimed to be paid @50 per month, with effect from 01.09.1992, till the date of the actual handing over of the possession i.e. the date when the cause of action of a wrongful interference has occurred.

4. What is surprising, is that if the written statement, which was preferred by the present defendant/appellant, before the court below, is taken into consideration, they have come up with the case that the plaintiffs/respondents, who were claiming their rights over the disputed 25 feet wide passage, in fact, it is a land which is lying in Khasara No.47, of "Village Jakhan, District Dehradun", and it is only a part of it, and as per the "Khatauni" entries made in the revenue records, the land is said to have been recorded with the State Government. It was further contended that as far as the Khasara No.32 is concerned, having an area of 5.38 acres of land, and Khasara No.47, having an area of 4.08 acres of land, of the aforesaid village is concerned, is an had been in the possession of the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (in short "MDDA"), and out of the aforesaid land, a part of it had been claimed to have been handed over to the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam Ltd., and it was claimed that they were placed it possession over the said land by the MDDA. The further defence which has been taken by the defendant/appellant, was that the construction of the wall on the so-called land, which was transferred over by the Nagar Nigam, Dehradun, to the defendant/appellant, herein, is concerned, they have contended that they were raising the construction over it, after getting its approval of the map from the Development Aut