Grant of proprietary rights

2023 YLR 1261 LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE Judicial Precedent

Ss. 42 & 54Suit for declaration and permanent injunctionGrant of proprietary rightsScope

Respondent filed a suit for declaration and permanent injunction wherein proprietary rights were claimed against the suit property, based on policy decision, offering land through sale by private treaty, to unauthorized occupants

Respondent alleged that he sought purchase of land under the policy decision but before any such sale was made, rights in land were transferred in favour of Punjab Housing Department

Trial Court dismissed the suit, however, Appellate Court decreed the same

Validity

Respondent had not established that payments were made as per conditions of the policy decision

Mere issuance of policy, when subjected to the fulfillment of terms and conditions, no enforceable right could be claimed

No legal basis was available for filing a suit for declaration, in the absence of any enforceable right

Respondent had filed application for seeking proprietary rights on the same day when the suit was filed

No right qua property was established, which entitled him from seeking decree of declaration in terms of S. 42 of the Specific Relief Act, 1877

Appellate Court had committed gross errors of law and misconstrued the evidence

Revision petition was allowed, judgment and decree passed by Appellate Court was set aside and that of Trial Court was affirmed.

2010 PLD 7 HIGH-COURT-AZAD-KASHMIR Judicial Precedent

S. 3 [as amended by Azad Jammu and Kashmir Regularization of Nautors and Khalsa Land (Amendment) Act, 1989]Azad Jammu and Kashmir Khalsa Land Rules, 1985, R.3Specific Relief Act (I of 1877), S.42Civil Procedure Code (V of 1908), O. VII, R.11Suit for declarationGrant of proprietary rightsRejection of suit

Trial Court rejected suit filed by the plaintiffs for want of cause of action as well as want of jurisdiction and Appellate Court had maintained judgment of the Trial Court

Claim of plaintiffs was that they were local destitutes and in possession of suit land, which was kind of khalsa sarkar since long as Nautor Kunaindah and proprietary rights were granted in their favour by Collector under Azad Jammu and Kashmir Grant of Khalsa Land Rules, 1985

Validity

Under amended S.3 of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Regularization of Nautors and Grant of Khalsa Land Ordinance, 1974 only those persons were entitled to obtain the grant of khalsa land who were holding Nautor Kunaindah on 15-6-1985 and continuous possession of the Nautor and recorded as such in the revenue record

Plaintiffs had made no Nautor over the suit land and in revenue record no entry had been recorded in that respect in favour of the plaintiffs

Plaintiffs in the earlier round of litigation were also ejected from the suit land-Due to absence of entry in revenue record and after ejectment from suit land, condition of continuous possession was disappeared

Plaintiffs, in circumstances, could not be granted proprietary rights and had no legal right in respect of suit land and had failed to establish the same under S.42 of the Specific Relief Act, 1877

Revenue Authorities were supposed to decide the grant of proprietary rights under Azad Jammu and Kashmir Khalsa Land Rules, 1985 and said authorities had jurisdiction to decide rightly as well as wrongly

Revenue authorities in the present case, had not travelled beyond their jurisdiction

Courts below had rightly declared that civil court had no vested jurisdiction to entertain the suit and the plaintiff had no cause of action

Courts below having committed no illegality while passing impugned judgments and decrees, appeal being devoid of force, was dismissed.