Punjab-Haryana High Court
Hari Om vs Minish Kumar on 13 January, 2005
Equivalent citations: (2005)140PLR690
JUDGMENT M.M. Kumar, J.
1. This petition filed under Article 227 of the Constitution prays for quashing order dated 20.12.2004 passed by the Civil Judge (Jr. Division) Dhuri declining the application of the defendant-petitioner seeking appointment of Local Commissioner for demarcation of the property allotted to him by the Wakf Board. The appointment of the Local Commissioner is stated to be to assist the Court in recording the finding as to whether the defendant-petitioner has encroached upon any area belonging to the plaintiff-respondent. In other words, the Local Commissioner was to be appointed to decide the question of possession in respect of the property.
2. The plaintiff-respondent filed a suit for permanent injunction restraining the defendant-petitioner from encroaching upon any part of his shop and from raising any construction over any part of the shop forcibly and illegally. During the pendency of the suit, the defendant-petitioner filed an application for appointment of the local commissioner asserting that during the course of adducing evidence, the plaintiff-respondent had stated that front measurement of the shop is 14 feet alleging that the plaintiff respondent mala fide intended to encroach upon 5 feet space of the property belonging to him. The defendant-petitioner moved an application for determining the actual measurement of the shop in dispute on the spot by appointment of a local commissioner. The application was resisted by asserting that the measurement of the front portion in definite terms has been disclosed to be 14 feet and the plaintiff-respondent did not wish to encroach upon 5 feet of the defendant-petitioner. The defendant-petitioner was granted seven opportunities to conclude his evidence, which was closed on 4.4.2003. On the basis of pleadings of the parties, the Civil Judge dismissed the application by the impugned order. The operative part of the order reads as under:-
"By going through the file, it reveals that both the parties have led their evidence. The plaintiff/respondent placed on the file allotment order of the disputed shop Ex.P1. The plaintiff/respondent filed the present suit for permanent injunction against the defendant/applicant. Local Commissioner can not be appointed to find out as to which of the party is in possession of the property is to be decided on the basis of the oral or documentary to be adduced by the parties. Local Commissioner can not be appointed , to report as to which party is in possession over the property. In the suit of injunction the question as to who is in possession of the property in dispute because it would amount to delegate the power of Court to determine the real issue of the case. For such purposes assistance of the Commissioner is neither necessary nor justified. In the present case both the parties have led their evidence and in order to succeed in his case plaintiff has to lead cogent evidence and in the present evidence was concluded by the parties. There is no need to appoint Local Commissioner. At this stage, the appointment of Local Commissioner is to delegate the power of the Court to the Local Commissioner. Resultantly, application under reference is dismissed."
3. Mr. Mahesh Gupta, learned counsel for the defendant-petitioner has argued that the view taken by the Civil Judge is unsustainable in law because the Local Commissioner was to be appointed to furnish the Court, measurement of the shop allotted to the defendant-petitioner. According to the learned counsel, there would be no delegation of the powers of the Court as the Local Commissioner was not to decide the issue of possession. The basic object of appointing a local commissioner was to assist the court so as to enable it to deal with the issue effectively. In support of his submission, the learned counsel has placed reliance on a judgment of this Court in the case of Pohlu Ram v. Gram Panchayat Dharamgarh alias Badowal, 1980 P.L.J. 24.
4. After hearing the learned counsel at some length, I regret my inability to concur with the submissions made by him. It is well settled that no revision petition under Section 115 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (for brevity, 'the Code') is competent before this Court as it could not be concluded that the order declining or appointing a local commissioner could be considered as a case decided. The aforementioned view has been taken by two Division Benches of this Court in the cases of Smt. Harvinder Kaur and Anr. v. Godha Ram and Anr., 1979 P.L.J. 562 and Pritam Singh v. Sunder Lal, (1990-2)98 P.L.R. 191. The question for consideration would be whether by replacing the head-note of the petition under Article 227 of the Constitution, could the defendant-petitioner succeed and claim the same relief. The answer to the aforementioned question to my mind is emphatically 'No', In substance the instant petition is under Section 115 of the Code. By mere change in the head-note of the petition, the substance cannot be replaced to wriggle out from the rigors of law which is well settled that no revision petition under Section 115 of the Code is maintainable.
5. If the petition is treated the one filed under Article 227 of the Constitution, then the question is what grave injustice has been caused to the defendant-petitioner. The Civil Judge has refused to delegate the power of the Civil Court with regard to recording the findings in respect of possession to a Local Commissioner who could be appointed under Order XXVI Rule 9 of the Code because there is already sufficient evidence on record and the question of possession could be decided. The Civil Judge has not felt the necessity of any assistance from the Local Commissioner in deciding the question of possession. In any case, no grave or manifest injustice has been caused to the defendant-petitioner by refusal of his prayer for appointment of a Local Commissioner. It is well settled that this Court would interfere under Article 227 of the Constitution in the cases of grave and manifest injustice has been laid down by the Supreme Court in the cases of Ouseph Mathus v. M. Abdul Khadir, and Virendra Kashinath Ravat and Anr. v. Vinayak N. Joshi and Ors., . Therefore, no interference of this Court is called for.
6. The judgment of this Court in Pohlu Ram's case (supra) on which reliance has been placed by learned counsel for the defendant-petitioner does not advance his case because there this Court at the stage of regular second appeal had interfered with the interlocutory order of the trial Court refusing to appoint a Local Commissioner. The aforementioned order was set aside by this Court in the second appeal after recording the finding that the only method of deciding the controversy with regard to encroachment on the land belonging to the Panchayat was to appoint a Local Commissioner for taking the measurement at the spot. However, in the present case, the situation is entirely different as the Civil Judge has expressed the opinion that there is ample evidence on record to decide the issue of possession and the assistance of the Local Commissioner was not essential. Therefore, the aforementioned judgment has no application to the facts of the present case.
For the reasons aforementioned, this petition fails and the same is dismissed.