Kashmir Singh vs State Of Punjab & Ors.

JASGURPREET SINGH PURI, J. (ORAL)

The present writ petition has been filed under Articles 226 & 227 of the Constitution of India seeking issuance of an appropriate writ, order or direction especially in the nature of mandamus directing the official respondents No.3 to 5 to remove illegal encroachment and construction raised by private respondents No.6 and 7 over the public street vesting in the Gram Panchayat and to take necessary action in accordance with law with a further prayer to direct the Panchayat Authorities to take immediate action for removal of illegal encroachment made by private respondents No.6 & 7 over the street vesting in the Gram Panchayat.

Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the private respondents have encroached upon the public street and in this regard, the petitioner seeks directions to the official respondents to remove the illegal construction and encroachment raised by private respondents No. 6 and 7 upon the public street vested in the Gram Panchayat

Learned counsel further submitted that the petitioner had filed a petition under Sections 4, 5 & 7 of the Punjab Public Premises and Land (Eviction and Rent Recovery) Act, 1973 for ejectment of the private respondents from the common street before the learned District Development and Panchayat Officer-cum-Collector, Jalandhar and the same was allowed vide order dated 15.12.2021 and a direction was also issued for eviction of the private respondents vide Annexure P-1. The said order was assailed by the private respondents before the Appellate Authority i.e. the Joint Development Commissioner (IRD) (Exercising the powers of Commissioner), Rural Development and Panchayats Department, SAS Nagar, Mohali and vide order dated 16.03.2022 (Annexure P-2), status quo was directed to be maintained. He submitted that the aforesaid appeal filed by the private respondents has already been decided and it has since been dismissed. However, the order dismissing the appeal has not been annexed with the present writ petition.

We have heard learned counsel for the petitioner.

On 19.02.2026, learned counsel for the petitioner had sought time to place on record the order passed in the aforesaid appeal, which is stated to have been decided against the private respondents. However, till date, the said order has not been placed on record. Be that as it may, the prayer made in the present writ petition is for issuance of a direction to the official respondents to remove the encroachment and construction raised by the private respondents. The said issue had already been raised by the petitioner by filing the aforesaid petition under Sections 4, 5 and 7 of the Punjab Public Premises and Land (Eviction and Rent Recovery) Act, 1973 which was allowed by learned District Development and Panchayat Officer-cum-Collector vide Annexure P-1. As per the submissions made by learned counsel for the petitioner, the appeal against the said order has also been dismissed.

Once the petitioner had already availed the aforesaid remedy and the relief sought had been granted by the learned District Development and Panchayat Officer-cum-Collector, then for the same cause of action and for the same relief already claimed, the present writ petition could not have been filed as it is not permissible under the law. We are, therefore, of the considered view that parallel jurisdiction cannot be invoked.

Consequently, the present writ petition is hereby dismissed.