1
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU
DATED THIS THE 28TH DAY OF JULY, 2022
BEFORE
THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE R. NATARAJ
WRIT PETITION NO.20334/2021 (GM-CPC)
BETWEEN:
1.
SRI. SADAPPA
S/O LATE SADAPPA
AGED 75 YEARS
2.
SEENAPPA
S/O SADAPPA
AGED 40 YEARS
3.
LOKESH
S/O SADAPPA
AGED 35 YEARS
4.
AMBARISH
S/O SADAPPA
AGED 33 YEARS
ALL ARE RESIDING AT:
NALLANDAHALLI VILLAGE,
MASTHI HOBLI, MALUR TALUK,
KOLAR DISTRICT-563137.
&PETITIONERS
(BY SMT. NEERAJA KARANTH, ADVOCATE)
AND:
SRI. VENKATASWAMY,
S/O LATE SADAPPA,
AGED 68 YEARS,
RESIDING AT NALLANDAHALLI VILLAGE,
MASTHI HOBLI, MALUR TALUK,
KOLAR DISTRICT-563137.
&RESPONDENT
(BY SRI. RAMESH KUMAR R.V., ADVOCATE)
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THIS WRIT PETITION IS FILED UNDER ARTICLE 227 OF
THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO QUASH THE ORDER
ON I.A.NO.7 DATED 26.10.2021 IN O.S.NO.574/2011 ON THE
FILE OF I ADDL. CIVIL JUDGE AND JMFC, MALUR, FILED AS
ANNEXURE-A TO THE WRIT PETITION AND CONSEQUENTLY,
ALLOW IA NO.7 IN O.S.NO.574/2011 ON THE FILE OF I ADDL.
CIVIL JUDGE AND JMFC, MALUR.
THIS PETITION COMING ON FOR PRELIMINARY HEARING
IN 'B' GROUP THIS DAY, THE COURT MADE THE FOLLOWING:
The
petitioners
being
the
defendants
in
O.S.No.574/2011 on the file of I Addl. Civil Judge and
JMFC, Malur (henceforth referred to as 'Trial Court' for
short), have filed this writ petition challenging the
correctness of an order dated 26.10.2021, by which the
Trial Court rejected an application filed by them under
Order XXVI Rule 9 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
(henceforth referred to as 'CPC' for short).
2.
The parties shall henceforth be referred to as
they were arrayed before the Trial Court.
3.
The suit in O.S.No.574/2011 was filed for
perpetual injunction in respect of a land bearing old
Sy.No.59 and new Sy.No.59/P6 of Nallandahalli, Masthi
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Hobli, Malur Taluk. The plaintiff claimed that the suit
property was granted in his favour by the Tahsildar, which
was evidenced by a grant certificate dated 19.08.1998. He
claim that he was in possession of the suit property from
the date of grant, consequent to which, the revenue
proceedings were initiated in MR No.6/1999-2000 to enter
his name. He claimed that his name was entered in the
RTC from year 1999-2000 till date. He claimed that the
defendant No.1 was his brother, while defendant Nos.2 to
4 were the sons of defendant No.1, who were in
possession of the land bearing Sy.Nos.77 and 59. The
plaintiff claimed that the defendants though having no
manner of right, title or interest in the suit property, were
attempting to interfere with his possession and therefore,
the suit was filed for perpetual injunction.
4.
The defendants contested the suit and claimed
that the plaintiff and defendant No.1 were granted 35
guntas each in Sy.No.59. They alleged that the plaintiff
was trying to take advantage of the wrong description of
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the properties in the grant certificate of the plaintiff and
the defendant No.1. They claimed that Sy.No.77 was the
ancestral property of plaintiff and defendants and Nagappa
as well as Ramakrishnappa. They contended that the
boundaries mentioned in the suit schedule were not
correct. They claimed that the correct boundaries of the
property granted to the plaintiff were different from what
was found in the grant certificate.
5.
Based on these contentions, the Trial Court
framed issues and set down the case for trial. After the
conclusion of evidence, the defendants filed an application
under Order XXVI Rule 9 of CPC for appointment of
Commissioner to identify the boundaries of the property in
possession of the plaintiff as well as the defendants. The
Trial Court in terms of the impugned order, rejected the
application on the ground that there was no justifiable
reason
for
appointment
of
a
Commissioner.
Being
aggrieved by the said order, the present writ petition is
filed.
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6.
The
learned
counsel
for
the
petitioners/defendants submitted that the plaintiff himself
had
filed
an
application
before
the
Tahsildar
for
rectification of the boundaries mentioned in the grant
certificate and therefore, the request of the defendant
Nos.1 to 4 for appointment of the Court Commissioner was
justified.
7.
Per
contra,
the
learned
counsel
for
plaintiff/respondent submitted that the application filed by
the defendants is only to protract the proceedings in the
suit. He contended that the Trial Court has held that if the
Court considers it appropriate to appoint the Court
Commissioner, it can do so and therefore, there is no need
for appointment of a Court Commissioner and the
discretion should be left to the Court itself.
8.
I have considered the submissions made by
the learned counsel for the parties.
9.
It is well settled that a Commissioner for local
inspection need not be appointed for the mere asking by
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any of the parties to the suit. The appointment of a Court
Commissioner is to be left to the absolute discretion of the
Trial Court. If the Trial Court considers it necessary and if
the evidence on record is not sufficient to render a finding
on fact, it could appoint a Commissioner for local
inspection.
10.
In the present case, the parties have already
add
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