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2018 DIGILAW 674 (RAJ)

Ram Singh S/o. Bhajan Lal v. Sahab Ram S/o. Lalu Ram, by caste Bishnoi

2018-03-05

PUSHPENDRA SINGH BHATI

body2018
ORDER : 1. The petitioner has preferred this writ petition for the following reliefs :- “(a) by an appropriate writ, order or direction, order dated 07.12.2015 passed in Original Case No.5/2015 may kindly be quashed and set aside. (b) by an appropriate writ, order or direction, the Suit bearing No.50/2015 filed by the plaintiff/respondent before the court of learned Civil Judge, Pilibanga, Hanumangarh may kindly be rejected as non-maintainable before the civil court. (c) Any other appropriate writ, order or direction which this Hon`ble Court may deem just and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case may kindly be passed in favour of the petitioner. (d) Writ petition filed by the petitioner may kindly be allowed with costs.” 2. The instant petition has been filed against the order passed by learned court below on 07.12.2015 deciding a preliminary issue regarding jurisdiction of civil court. The facts as noticed by this court are that the plaintiff-respondent filed a civil suit for permanent injunction on the ground that the plaintiff-respondent was using a way for the last two decades to access his agricultural farm house from the land belonging to the defendant-petitioner, who are trying to obstruct the same. 3. The petitioner-defendant moved an application under Order 7 Rule 11 CPC pleading that the suit preferred by the plaintiff is barred by law as per provisions of Section 207 of the Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955. Section 207 of the Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955 reads as follows :- “207. Suits and applications cognizable by revenue court only— (1) All suits and application of the nature specified in the Third Schedule shall be heard and determined by a revenue court. (2) No court other than a revenue court shall take cognizance of any such suit or application or of any suit or application based on a cause of action in respect of which any relief could be obtained by means of any such suitor application. Explanation— If the cause of action is one in respect of which relief might be granted by the revenue court, it is immaterial that the relief asked for from the civil court is greater than, or additional to, or is not identical with, that which the revenue court could have granted.” The application was rejected by learned court below and an issue regarding the point was framed, which was also decided against the petitioner-defendant. Counsel for the petitioner-defendant has relied upon the provisions of Section 207 of Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955, which prohibits certain suits and applications, whereby cognizance is to be taken by the revenue courts only. Counsel for the petitioner points out list of such suits and applications given in IIIrd Schedule. As per Sr. No.81 of IIIrd Schedule, the disputes regarding way or easement or right to way etc., fall under the purview of Section 207. Counsel for the petitioner has further referred to Section 251 of the Act of 1955, which reads as follows : “251. Rights of way and other private easement— (1) In the event of any holder of land, in actual enjoyment of a right of way or other easement or right, having, without his consent, been disturbed in such enjoyment otherwise than in due course of law, the Tehsildar may, on the application of the holder of land so disturbed and after making a summary inquiry into the fact of such enjoyment and disturbance, order the disturbance to be removed or stopped and the applicant-holder to be restored to such enjoyment, notwithstanding any other title that may be set up before the Tehsildar against such restoration. (2) No order passed under this section shall debar any person from establishing such right or easement as he may claim by a regular suit in a competent civil court.” Counsel for the petitioner submits that Section 251 is pertaining to right of way or other easement, therefore, it fall in entry No.81 of Schedule-III and has to be decided in accordance with Section 207 of the Act of 1955. Counsel for the petitioner, thus, has pointed out that the dispute apparently is about right of way and the petitioner is prohibited from maintaining the suit, thus, the impugned order of the learned court below is bad in the eye of law. Counsel for the petitioner has supported his case with the aid of precedent law rendered by this Court in Ram Narayan Vs. Mangi Lal & Ors. (S.B. Civil Revision petition No.25/2012, decided on 2.1.2014) reported in 2014 WLC (Raj.) UC 291 relevant para whereof reads as follows : “7. Reference was also made to Sr. 5, 8 & 8-A of the schedule appended to the Act, which provides for suit, application and appeal under the Act. Mangi Lal & Ors. (S.B. Civil Revision petition No.25/2012, decided on 2.1.2014) reported in 2014 WLC (Raj.) UC 291 relevant para whereof reads as follows : “7. Reference was also made to Sr. 5, 8 & 8-A of the schedule appended to the Act, which provides for suit, application and appeal under the Act. It was further submitted that nowhere in the plaint, there is any whisper about easementary right and consequently, the judgment impugned deserves to be set-aside and the application deserves to be accepted. 8. Reliance was placed on the judgment of this Court in Ramchandra vs. Lakha & Ors. : 1971 WLN (Part -I) 97, Ashok Chouhan vs. Smt. Amri Bai & Anr. : 2010(2) DNJ (Raj.) 776, Mohar Singh vs. Wazir Chand : 1969 RLW 347. 13. In terms of Section 207 of the Tenancy Act and the 3rd schedule appended to the said Act, the suit for declaration of the plaintiff's right as a tenant, suit for declaration of any other right, and the suit for injunction are all maintainable before the revenue courts and in view thereof, the jurisdiction of civil court qua the said suit stands barred. 14. The plea raised by learned counsel for the plaintiff that as the plaintiff is seeking to enforce his rights under the agreement dated 2.7.2009, therefore, the suit is maintainable before the civil court has no warrant in law, inasmuch as, it cannot be said that if a right qua agriculture land / improvement arises based on agreement between the tenants/ co-tenants of the land in question, the jurisdiction of revenue court is taken away. The enforcement of right by the plaintiff based on the title in his favour and the agreement executed by Smt. Hangami Bai does not prevent him from such relief from the revenue court. 15. The finding of the trial court based on alleged easementary right said to have been claimed by the plaintiff in the reply to application under Order VII, Rule 11 CPC is wholly de hors the plaint wherein there is no averment about so-called easementary right and therefore, on that count also the order passed by the trial court cannot be sustained.” Counsel for the petitioner, thus, made out a case of Section 207 of Rajasthan Tenancy Act read with IIIrd Schedule Entry No.81, which prohibits right of the petitioner to maintain a civil suit. 4. 4. Counsel for the respondent has drawn attention of this Court to Section 251 Sub-Section (2), which has already been reproduced above and that clearly stipulates that no order passed in Section 251 shall debar any person from establishing such right or easement as he may claim by a regular suit in a competent civil court. Counsel for the respondent has further relied upon the judgment of Full Bench of this Court in Badri & Others Vs. Moda & Ors., reported in AIR 1979 Rajasthan 142, relevant para whereof reads as follows : “14. It was held in Baksha v. Gokaldan (1957 Raj LW 188) that remedy referred to in Section 251, is a summary one, and does not debar a suit in a competent civil court. Learned Judge observed: "sub-section (2) of Section 251, therefore, overrides Section 207 and if an unsuccessful party can ultimately go to a civil court, there is no reason why the plaintiffs should not also in the first instance go to a civil court". Chhangani, J., as he than was, also examined the provisions of Section 251 of the Act in Nenu Ram v. Smt. Jaswanti & Co. (1960 Raj LW 376). 15. We are tempted to quote the following observations of the learned Judge: "The provisions of the Rajasthan Tenancy Act, generally speaking, purport to create suits for rights to be conferred by that Act as exclusively triable by a revenue court, but do not seek to embrace suits for the enforcement of rights arising under other laws, such as the Pre-emption Act or the Easements Act. Sub-section (2) further clarifies that position. According to this subsection, an order of Tehsilar under Sub-section (1) shall not debar a person from establishing such rights and easements as he may claim by a regular suit in a competent civil court. The use of the expression "No......shall debar......" is suggestive of the fact that a right to file a suit in the civil court, in the first instance, stands automatically recognised and a previous application to the Tehsildar and obtaining his summary decision is not a condition precedent to the filing of a civil suit. The relief on the basis of a right of easement can only be granted by a civil court and not by a revenue court. The relief on the basis of a right of easement can only be granted by a civil court and not by a revenue court. Section 207 of the Act lays down that only those suits and applications of the nature specified in the Third Schedule shall be heard and determined by a revenue court. Therefore, for the purpose of granting the relief on the basis of an easementary right the proper forum is that of a civil court. 16. It is, therefore, clear that out of the two main reliefs referred to above, one can be granted by a revenue court and the other can be granted by a civil court. In view of the two main reliefs asked for by the plaintiffs, in our opinion, it is a suit dealing with composite matters. Section 242 of the Act makes provisions for dealing with such composite matters. It runs as under: "Section 242. Procedure when plea of tenancy rights raised in civil courts: (1) If, in any suit relating to agricultural land instituted in a civil court, any question regarding tenancy right arises and such question has not previously been determined by a revenue court of competent jurisdiction, the civil court shall frame an issue on the plea of tenancy and submit the record to the appropriate revenue court for the decision of that issue only. Explanation :-- A plea of tenancy which is clearly untenable and intended solely to oust the jurisdiction of the civil Court shall not be deemed to raise a plea of tenancy. (2) The Revenue Court, after reframing the issue, if necessary, shall decide such issue only, and return the record together with the finding thereon, to the Civil Court which submitted it. (3) The Civil Court shall then proceed to decide the suit, accepting the finding of the Revenue Court on the issue referred to it. (4) The finding of the Revenue Court on the issue referred to it shall, for the purposes of appeal, be deemed to be a part of the finding of the Civil Court." In this case, the plaintiffs have joined more than one causes of action in the suit, namely, (i) pertaining to draw l/6th water from the well and (ii) relating to take water in the existing drain through the land of defendant No. 1 on the basis of right of easement. We have already held that one cause of action is such that it is not triable by a Revenue Court. It is, therefore, clear that that portion of claim made in the plaint is triable by a Civil Court and the other portion is triable by a Revenue Court. In these circumstances, we are of the opinion that the suit could rightly be taken cognizance of by a Civil Court and what would be necessary is to refer the issue regarding the claim to draw l/6th water from the well which relates to the tenancy rights, to the Revenue Court, if at all it is found necessary to do so.” 5. After hearing learned counsel for the parties, this Court finds that Full Bench decision of this Court has dealt with at length the relationship between Section 207 and Section 251 and has held that Section 251 Sub-Section (2) shall have an over-riding effect over Section 207 and, thus, a party was entitled to go to a civil court as permitted under Section 251(2). Hon`ble Single Bench has categorically drawn a finding that Sub-Section (2) of Section 251 is suggestive of the fact that a right to file a suit in the civil court, in the first instance, stands automatically recognised and a previous application to the Tehsildar and obtaining his summary decision is not a condition precedent to the filing of a civil suit. It has been further laid down by Hon`ble Full Bench of this Court that the relief on the basis of a right of easement can only be granted by a civil court and not by a revenue court. Section 207 of the Act of 1955 lays down that only those suits and applications of the nature specified in Third Schedule shall be heard and determined by a revenue court. Therefore, for the purpose of granting the relief on the basis of an easementary right, the proper forum is that of a civil court. 6. Section 207 of the Act of 1955 lays down that only those suits and applications of the nature specified in Third Schedule shall be heard and determined by a revenue court. Therefore, for the purpose of granting the relief on the basis of an easementary right, the proper forum is that of a civil court. 6. Since the precedent law cited by learned counsel for the petitioner is of learned Single Bench, whereas the jurisdiction of civil court has been upheld by Full Bench of this Court and in light of clear reading of Section 251 Sub-Section (2) that no order passed under this section shall debar any person from establishing such right or easement as he may claim by a regular suit in a competent civil court, this Court finds that the order passed by the learned court below was well justified and does not call for any interference. Thus, the writ petition is accordingly dismissed.