Delhi District Court
Davinder Kumar Arora (Senior Citizen) vs Om Prakash Chawla on 20 February, 2025
IN THE COURT OF CIVIL JUDGE-01, CENTRAL
DISTRICT, TIS HAZARI COURTS, DELHI
PRESIDED OVER BY SH. SAHIL KHURMI
CNR No:-DLCT03-DLCT030026352016
CS SCJ No:-600857/2016
1. Davinder Kumar Arora
Prop. M/s. D.K. Trading Co.,
Shop No.5797, Chawla Market,
Sadar Bazar, Delhi.
2. Vinod Jain,
S/o Sh. Sukh Chain Jain,
Jain Thread House,
Shop No.5796, Chawla Market,
Sadar Bazar, Delhi.
3. Raj Babu,
M/s. Raj Kumar Anand,
Shop No.5794/2, Chawla Market,
Sadar Bazar, Delhi.
4. Sumit Gupta,
M/s. Panna Lal Surender Kumar,
Shop No.5794/1, Chawla Market,
Sadar Bazar, Delhi.
5. Mohd Iqbal,
M/s. M.B. Button Wala,
Shop No.5793/1, Chawla Market,
Sadar Bazar, Delhi.
6. Naveen,
M/s. Shubham Enterprises,
Shop No.5792, Chawla Market,
Sadar Bazar, Delhi.
Digitally signed
by SAHIL
CS SCJ No.600857/2016 SAHIL KHURMI
Page 1 of 11
KHURMI Date:
2025.02.20
16:22:51 +0530
7. Gurinder Singh,
M/s. G.M. Singh & Sons,
Shop No.5792, Chawla Market,
Sadar Bazar, Delhi.
8. Ram Gulati,
M/s. Sham Hosiery Store,
Shop No.5791, Chawla Market,
Sadar Bazar, Delhi.
9. Salman,
M/s. M I Soother Wala,
Shop No.5790, Chawla Market,
Sadar Bazar, Delhi.
10. Abid,
M/s. Unique Lace House,
Shop No.5789/B, Chawla Market,
Sadar Bazar, Delhi.
11. Subhash,
M/s. Mahavir Trading Co.,
Shop No.5787, Chawla Market,
Sadar Bazar, Delhi.
.....Plaintiffs
Versus
1. Om Prakash Chawla,
S/o not known
2. Virender Kumar Chawla,
S/o not known
3. Swatantra Kumar Chawla
S/o not known
4. Neelam Chawla,
D/o not known
5. Sheel Chawla,
S/o not known
Digitally signed
CS SCJ No.600857/2016 SAHIL by SAHIL
KHURMI Page 2 of 11
KHURMI Date: 2025.02.20
16:23:20 +0530
6. Krishan Lal Chawla,
S/o not known
7. Prem Kumar Chawla,
S/o not known
8. Sanjeev Chawla
S/o not known
9. Surendra Chawla
S/o not known
10.Vanita Chawla
W/o not known
11. Gulshan Chawla
S/o not known
12. Veena Chawla
W/o not known
13. Kulbhushan Chawla
S/o not known
All C/o Shanta Trading Co.,
5801, Chawla Market,
Sadar Bazar,
Delhi
Also at:-
C/o Shanta Enterprises,
5800, Chawla Market,
Sadar Bazar,
Delhi ...Defendants
Date of institution 12.04.2016
Date on which reserved for judgment 03.02.2025
Date of decision 20.02.2025
Decision Decreed
CS SCJ No.600857/2016 Page 3 of 11
Digitally signed
SAHIL by SAHIL
KHURMI
KHURMI Date: 2025.02.20
16:23:28 +0530
SUIT FOR PERMANENT INJUNCTION
JUDGMENT
BRIEF FACTS Note:-The present suit has already been settled with the defendants No.1 to 11 and disposed off vide order dated 18.02.2021.
1. Shorn off unnecessary details, the brief facts of the present suit as averred in the plaint are that the plaintiffs are carrying on various businesses from their respective shops situated in Chawla Market, Sadar Bazar, Delhi.
1.1 It is further stated that plaintiff no.2's mother namely Smt. Pushpa Jain, wife of Shri Sukh Chain Jain purchased shop No.5796 from one Girdhari Lal Chawla vide registered Sale Deed dated 07.04.1978 and the plaintiff No.2's family has been in ownership and possession of the shop since then.
1.2 It is further stated that the above mentioned sale deed dated 07.04.1978 also had a site plan which was provided by the vendor namely Girdhari Lal Chawla and the site plan along with the above mentioned sale deed clearly shows the exact shop numbers of the shops in the market as well as the general layout of the market and its surrounding area. That site plans clearly show that there is an area in the middle of shop Nos.5990,5989,5988 on one side and Shop Nos.5793, 5794, 5796 and 5797 on the other side. That the said large area between the shops was never earmarked as any CS SCJ No.600857/2016 SAHIL Digitally signed by SAHIL Page 4 of 11 KHURMI KHURMI Date: 2025.02.20 16:23:34 +0530 independent shop and was referred to in the site plan enclosed along with the above mentioned sale deed as open space. That this open space is similarly described in other sale deeds of shop owners having their shops around or near the shop of the plaintiffs. That no individual property number or other description is mentioned qua the said open space in any document anywhere. That shops as described above is exactly what is is referred to i.e. an open space.
1.3 It is further stated that plaintiff No.2's wife also purchased shop No.5795 located on the first floor above shop Nos.5796 and 5797 in Chawla Market vide registered Sale Deed dated 07.04.1978 which also describes the open space below as open below in the attached site plan and as "open (passage) below". That the above said open space was left deliberately in front of the above mentioned shops to facilitate free movement of people going in and coming out of the Chawla Market and also to prevent any kind of stampede in the event of a fire or a natural disaster such as earthquake etc. That the said open space was an integral part of the layout plan of the market in question. That the said Chawla Market comprising of various shops, including the shops was originally purchased by one Sh. Ganga Saran, son of Sh. Narsing Dass in an auction held in 1957, as is evident from a perusal of Sale Certificate dated 23.07.1960 issued by the concerned authority. That the sale certificate very clearly denies the property, which was the subject matter of the sale certificate as only comprising of various shops bearing specific numbers, which have till date remained the same till date. That in the sale deed dated 20.09.1970 executed by one Sh. K.L. Chawla in favour of Smt. Shahni Devi in CS SCJ No.600857/2016 Digitally signed Page 5 of 11 SAHIL by SAHIL KHURMI KHURMI Date: 2025.02.20 16:23:40 +0530 respect of Shop No.5792, Chawla Market in possession of plaintiff No.6, and the above mentioned open space is described as "Chowk in Market" in the deed itself and as "open chowk in market" in the site plan enclosed with the sale deed. That the plaintiffs have been running their respective shops with the open space being developed an easementary right to use the said open space for the purpose of providing access to the shops located around it.
1.4 It is further stated that recently on 04.04.2016, certain unidentified persons stated to be representatives of the defendants came to the open space and affixed a poster/board containing a caution notice and while affixing the said notice the representatives of defendant made their intentions clear that the defendants intended to raise construction on the open space in question and stated that they would be constructing new shops thereon and after making this statement, the representatives drew a white line using paint around the open space and thereafter stated that the area within the painted line will be utilised for raising construction of new shops shortly.
1.5 It is further stated that the plaintiffs immediately took certain photographs of the notice as well as of the painted lines. That the plaintiffs have already submitted a complaint dated 05.04.2016 to the SHO, Police Station, Sadar Bazar Thana Road, Sadar Bazar, Delhi as well as to the police commissioner on 07.04.2016. That the plaintiffs have also approached the North Delhi Municipal Corporation's Encroachment Department by means of Complaint dated 07.04.2016 as well as the Deputy CS SCJ No.600857/2016 SAHIL Digitally signed by SAHIL Page 6 of 11 KHURMI KHURMI Date: 2025.02.20 16:23:46 +0530 Commissioner thereof by means of Complaint dated 11.04.2016. That recently on 11.04.2016, another copy of caution notice in the form of an unsigned copy was circulated to the plaintiffs at their respective shops. That while furnishing this copy of notice, the unidentified person who stated that he was representing the defendants, threatened the plaintiffs to stay out of his way and that he would return in a day or two with construction material to start the process of constructing new shops in front of the shops of the plaintiffs as well as other shopkeepers around the open space. That the white line drawn by the persons representing the defendants does not even leave enough room for a single person to stand in front of the shop of the plaintiffs as well other shopkeepers. That not only the present defendants do not have any right to raise any construction or in any other manner occupy the open space and thereby violate the easement of the plaintiffs and other shop owners and passer-byes by blocking, access entirely to the shops of the plaintiffs. Hence the present suit has been filed with prayer from raising any construction over or otherwise blocking and/or occupying the area described as "open space" in the site plan located in front of shop No.5796, Chawla Market, Sadar Bazar, Delhi.
2. The summons of the suit have been issued to the defendants and the defendants and defendants appeared through respective counsels.
3. It is pertinent to mention that the present suit has already been settled with the defendants No.1 to 11 in terms of MOU dated 22.08.2020 and disposed off vide order dated 18.02.2021. It is CS SCJ No.600857/2016 Digitally signed Page 7 of 11 by SAHIL SAHIL KHURMI KHURMI Date:
2025.02.20 16:23:52 +0530 further pertinent to note that defendants No.12 and 13 were proceeded exparte vide Order dated 19.11.2022. Thereafter following issues have been framed:-
ISSUES
1. Whether the plaintiff is entitled to the decree of permanent injunction, as prayed for?OPP
2. Relief.
4. Thereafter matter was listed for recording of evidence of plaintiff.
PLAINTIFF EVIDENCE
5. Thereafter, evidence was led on behalf of plaintiff and plaintiff got examined himself as a witness PW-1, whose affidavit of evidence is marked as Ex.PW1/A wherein he reiterated the contents of the plaint. He also exhibited the following documents:-
Exhibit-1(colly) SPAs dated 02.08.2023. Mark A (colly) Copy of registered Sale Deed dated 07.04.1978 of Shop No.5796 and site plan.
Mark B (colly) Copy of registered Sale Deed dated 5795 and site plan.
Mark D Copy of Sale Certificate dated 23.07.1979. Mark E Copy of Sale Deed dated 20.09.1979 executed by Sh. K.L. Chawla in favour of Smt. Shahni Devi in respect of Shop No.5792, Chawla Market.
Exhibit-7 Colour photographs. CS SCJ No.600857/2016 SAHIL Digitally signed by SAHIL Page 8 of 11 KHURMI KHURMI Date: 2025.02.20 16:23:59 +0530 Mark F Photo of caution notice dated 04.04.2016. Mark G Copy of complaint dated 05.04.2016. Mark H Unsigned copy of another caution notice dated 11.04.2016. Exhibit-11 MOU dated 22.08.2020.
6. Thereafter, vide separately recorded statement of plaintiff, the PE was closed. The matter was then listed for final arguments.
7. Final arguments have been heard. Case file perused.
FINDINGS OF THE COURT Whether the plaintiff is entitled to the decree of permanent injunction, as prayed for?OPP
8. It is the case of the plaintiff that the plaintiffs are carrying on various businesses from their respective shops situated at Chawla Market, Sadar Bazar,Delhi and that mother of plaintiff No.2 Smt. Pushpa Jain purchased the Shop No.5796 from one Girdhari Lal Chawla vide registered Sale Deed dated 07.04.1978 and plaintiff No.2's family has been in ownership of the shop since then. That as per site plan filed by the plaintiffs there is an area in the middle of shop No(s).5990, 5989, 5988 on one side and shop No(s). 5793, 5794, 5796 and 5797 on the other side. That large area has been referred to as open space. That said open space was never earmarked as any independent shop. That the said area is mentioned as open passage in the sale deed dated 07.04.1978 vide CS SCJ No.600857/2016 Page 9 of 11 Digitally signed SAHIL by SAHIL KHURMI KHURMI Date: 2025.02.20 16:24:04 +0530 which the plaintiff's No.2 wife purchased the Shop No.5795. That it is apparent that the above mentioned open area was left deliberately in front of above mentioned shops to facilitate the free movement of people going in and coming out of the Chawla Market and also to prevent any kind of stampede in the event of a fire or a natural disaster. That said open space was an integral part of the layout plan of the market in question.
9. The plaintiff has claimed easementary rights over the said open space for the purpose of providing access to the shops located around it. Considering that if any construction is raised by the defendants that would be detrimental to the interest of the public as it would restrict the free movement of the people at the Chawla Market over the aforesaid open space. Further, the entire evidence led by the plaintiff goes unrebutted as the defendants No.12 and 13 have neither cross examined the plaintiff nor any defence evidence was led by the defendants No.12 and 13. The plaintiff has shown prima facie case in his favour. Plaintiff and public at large will suffer irreparable loss if the relief is not granted and balance of convenience lies in favour of the plaintiff. For the reasons aforementioned, the present issue is decided in favour of plaintiffs and against the defendants.
RELIEF
10. Considering the aforesaid discussion, the present suit is decreed in favour of the plaintiffs and against the defendants No.12 and 13 and the defendants No.12 & 13, their agents, representatives, employees, servants, contractors, successors in Digitally signed by SAHIL CS SCJ No.600857/2016 SAHIL KHURMI Page 10 of 11 KHURMI Date:
2025.02.20 16:24:10 +0530 interest etc are restrained from raising any construction over or otherwise blocking and also restrained from occupying the area described as "open space" in the site plan located in front of shop No.5796, Chawla Market, Sadar Bazar, Delhi.
11. No order as to cost.
12. Decree sheet be prepared accordingly.
13. File be consigned to the record room after due compliance.
Announced in the open
court on 20.02.2025 Digitally signed
SAHIL by SAHIL
KHURMI
KHURMI Date: 2025.02.20
16:24:17 +0530
(SAHIL KHURMI)
Civil Judge-1, Central District,
Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi
CS SCJ No.600857/2016 Page 11 of 11