Ashok Kumar vs Kala Devi and others

S. P. Goyal, J. (Oral)

The respondents filed a suit claiming a decree for correction of the entries in the ownership column of the Jamabandi prepared in the year 196970. In an appeal against the adinterim order of the trial Court passed on March 12, 1982, the learned Additional District Judge made the observation that the suit as framed was not triable by the civil Court because the plaintiffs had not claimed declaration of their rights under Section 45 of the Punjab Land Revenue Act. In view of this observation the plaintiffs moved an application for withdrawal of the suit with permission to file a fresh suit on the same cause of action which was allowed by the learned Sub Judge by the impugned order. Aggrieved thereby the defendants have come up in this revision.

No doubt in the plaint the relief claimed was that a decree for correction of the entries in the Jamabandi may be passed and though the relief in this form could not be granted by the civil Court but a declaratory decree of the rights of the plaintiffs on the suit as framed could certainly be passed if the plaintiffs succeed in substantiating their pleas. Even if it may be said for the sake of argument that proper relief was not claimed it could be done by way of amendment and there was absolutely no reason to hold that suit was likely to fail on some technical ground. The impugned order is consequently set aside and the trial Court is directed to allow the plaintiffs to amend the relief clause so as to claim a declaration under Section 45 of the Punjab Land Revenue Act. Further it is made clear that as the interim relief was declined to the plaintiffs by the lower appellate Court because of the observations noticed above, it would be open to the trial Court to consider the question of interim relief afresh. The parties, through their counsel, have been directed to appear in the trial Court on April 26, 1984.