AI Structured Summary
Not yet generated for this judgment
Judgment
R. Basant, J.—The Petitioners have come to this Court with this petition for issue of directions under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to Respondents 1 to 3 - police officials, to afford protection to the Petitioners against illegal, culpable and violent conduct on the part of Respondents 4 and 5. Petitioners 1, 3, 4 and 5 are siblings. 2nd Petitioner is the daughter of the 1st Petitioner. According to Petitioners 1, 3, 4 and 5, their father owned properties. Before his death, he had executed settlement deeds - Exts.P1 and P2. The Petitioners have exclusive rights over 3 shop rooms. It is the case of the Petitioners that Respondents 4 and 5 are threatening the tenants in the property as also the Petitioners. The tenants have already vacated. The Petitioners are not being permitted to go to their property. Their life and person is threatened by Respondents 4 and 5. It is, in these circumstances, that the Petitioners have come to this Court seeking issue of directions under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
Respondents 4 and 5 have entered appearance through a counsel. The learned Counsel for Respondents 4 and 5 submits that the parties are attempting to talk over the matter and settle the same. According to Respondents 4 and 5, there is a lot of vagueness and uncertainty about the stipulations in the settlement deeds. Respondents 4 and 5 are waiting to settle the matter. If not, they shall approach the civil court to set aside the documents as the stipulations therein are not workable.
We turned to the learned Government Pleader for submissions. The learned Government Pleader submits that in the perception of Respondents 1 to 3, there is no threat to the life or person of the Petitioners. It is true that there is a property dispute between the Petitioners on the one hand and Respondents 4 and 5 on the other. As perceived by Respondents 1 to 3, the dispute arises from vagueness of the property allotted to various children under the settlement deed. The police have not chosen to intervene in the dispute between the siblings as the police felt that the dispute is purely a civil one and the disputants must seek appropriate directions from the civil court. The learned Government Pleader submits that there is no perception of any threat against the life of the Petitioners. If there be any, Petitioners shall be at liberty to complain, whereupon Respondents 4 and 5 shall take appropriate action.
We have considered all the relevant inputs. We are satisfied that the dispute essentially is purely a civil dispute between the parties. We are not persuaded to agree that any directions under Article 226 of the Constitution can, need or deserve to be issued in this Writ Petition. We must leave the parties to settle their civil dispute harmoniously by themselves or by initiation of appropriate proceedings.
As regards to the threat to the life of the Petitioners, we do not perceive any such threat. We accept the submission of the learned Government Pleader on this aspect. The learned Counsel for Respondents 4 and 5 undertakes that Respondents 4 and 5 shall not indulge in any culpable or violent acts against the Petitioners.
We are, in these circumstances, satisfied that this Writ Petition can now be disposed of with appropriate directions.
In the result:
a) This Writ Petition is allowed;
b) We accept the submissions of the learned Counsel for Respondents 4 and 5 as also the learned Government Pleader and direct that if there be any threat of violence or harm against the life or person of the Petitioners, Respondents 1 to 3 must take appropriate action to afford protection to them.