Punjab-Haryana High Court
Shama @ Sham Lal And Ors vs Haryana Waqf Board on 5 May, 2022
Author: Fateh Deep Singh
Bench: Fateh Deep Singh
CR 1507 of 2022 (O&M) -1-
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA
AT CHANDIGARH
CR 1507 of 2022 (O&M)
Date of Decision: May 05, 2022
Shama @ Sham Lal and others ...Petitioners
Versus
Haryana Waqf Board ... Respondent
CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE FATEH DEEP SINGH
Present : Mr. Sanjiv Gupta, Advocate
for the petitioners.
Mr. Gulam Nabi Malik, Advocate
for the respondent.
FATEH DEEP SINGH, J. (Oral)
The petitioners in all numbering 4 who also happen to be the judgment debtors have come up in the instant revision petition by virtue of Article 227 of the Constitution of India against an order dated 23.03.2022 (Annexure P-5), whereby, the Court of Civil Judge (Senior Division) Panipat in its following order has held as under:-
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"In view of aforesaid discussion and findings, this Court is of the view that the present execution petition is very much maintainable in its present form before this Court in view of law laid down in case titled as Punjab Wakf Board Vs. Sham Singh Harike etc. (supra)"
while disposing of the objections of the judgment debtors and present petitioners.
Upon hearing Mr. Sanjiv Gupta, advocate for the petitioner and Mr. Gulam Nabi Malik, advocate for the respondent and perusal of the records.
The Haryana Waqf Board (in short, 'the Board') instituted before the Waqf Tribunal a suit for possession alongwith mesne profits and consequential relief of permanent injunction against the then defendants present petitioners over a property to which the petitioners had laid claim to be the owners.
The Court of learned Additional District Judge,
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CR 1507 of 2022 (O&M) -3-
Panipat through judgment dated 28.10.2015 held as follow:-
29. For the reasoning given and discussion made in the preceding portion, a decree for possession in respect of the suit property mentioned in head note and prayer clause of the suit in question, directing the defendants to handover vacant possession thereof to the plaintiff and further a decree for recovery of mesne profits at the rate of Rs.3000/- per annum per acre form the date of filing the suit in question for unauthorized use and occupation of the suit property with a consequential relief of permanent injunction restraining the defendants from further transferring the possession of the suit property and from alienating/mortgaging it or from creating any charge over it, is/are passed in favour of the plaintiff and against the defendants. No costs.
Decree sheet be prepared accordingly and file 3 of 6 ::: Downloaded on - 24-07-2022 17:50:16 ::: CR 1507 of 2022 (O&M) -4- be consigned to the record room".
It is during the course of execution proceedings, the impugned orders were passed and challenge were laid to it.
Counsel for the petitioners has sought to place reliance on Civil Appeal No. 1509 of 2020 titled as Punjab Wakf Board Vs. Tarlochan Singh (Dead) through L.Rs. and another of Hon'ble Apex Court to drive home the point that so far as the questions of possession and ejectment are concerned, it is open for the Board to approach the appropriate forum in accordance with law in terms of liberty granted by the Apex Court in the above cited judgment.
The claim of the counsel for the petitioners that the petitioners were one of the persons before the Apex Court in which the orders Annexure P-3 were passed and close look at it shows that these civil appeals which were disposed off by the Supreme Court including an SLP were over a totally different point of time, wherein, totally different ends were before the Court over the very exclusion of the jurisdiction of the Civil Court 4 of 6 ::: Downloaded on - 24-07-2022 17:50:16 ::: CR 1507 of 2022 (O&M) -5- under the Punjab Waqf Act 1995 (in short 'the Act') .
This Court while disposing off 14 civil revisions under the Haryana Waqf Board Act over the question as to the jurisdiction of the civil court to deal with the matters of unauthorized possession of waqf properties. Therein, this Court has held that where title of a waqf property stood determined and whether the property falls within the terms of the Waqf Act as detailed in Section 3(r) of the Act, Civil Court has the jurisdiction to entertain and decide the matter and since then has been canvassed before this Court had attained finality. More so, the very provisions of Section 83 Clause 8 of the Waqf Act lays down that execution of any decision of the Tribunal shall be made by the Civil Court to which the decision of the Civil Court are sent for execution in accordance with law with the provisions of the CPC and therefore to the mind of this Court with the amendment that has been brought about in the provisions of Order 21 Rule 10 CPC, the Civil Court to whom a decree has been sent for execution exercises the powers that 5 of 6 ::: Downloaded on - 24-07-2022 17:50:16 ::: CR 1507 of 2022 (O&M) -6- vests in the Civil Court for execution of a decree and in Punjab Wakf Board case (supra) the three Bench view has categorically held that so far as the possession and ejectment etc., are concerned it is open for the Board to approach the appropriate forum in accordance with law in terms of the liberty granted above.
The petitioners cannot be allowed to take advantage of the view that is sought to be raised by the counsel for the petitioners as detailed above and rather to the mind of this Court a last ditch battle is being fought by the judgment debtors to safeguard their illegal possession over the properties of the Waqf Board which they cannot carry on any more.
The instant revision is hopelessly without any merits and stands dismissed.
May 05, 2022 (FATEH DEEP SINGH)
amit rana JUDGE
Whether reasoned/speaking : Yes/No
Whether reportable : Yes/No
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