In this old case concerning land disputed between a Waqf Board and private claimants, the Patna High Court held that the matter involves highly contested factual questions of title and interest in property. Consequently, the Court found it inappropriate to decide the issue in these proceedings and remitted the matter to the Civil Court.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No 4875 of 1994
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.... .... Respondent/s
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CORAM: HON’BLE MR JUSTICE NAVANITI PRASAD SINGH ORAL JUDGMENT
Date: 01-04-2015
No one appears for the parties inspite of repeated calls.
Patna High Court CWJC No.4875 of 1994 dt.01-04-2015
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2 The case is old. This Court has gone through the records and find that the dispute relates to land in which the petitioner, the Waqf Board claims that it was a Qabristan wrongly recorded in the revisional survey as parti qadim ghair mazarua malik now Bihar Sarkar. They learnt that the Bhoodan Committee was making settlement of the aforesaid land to the private respondents which was illegal. Accordingly, they filed the writ petition.
3 A counter affidavit has been filed stating that the land was under zamindari of one Rani Bhubneshwari Kuer who, on 01.01.1951, donated the same to Binoba Bhawe Bhoodan Yagna Committee who accepted the same and the same was confirmed by the revenue authorities in the year, 1973. In 1978, the lands were distributed to various persons and it was only thereafter that proceedings were taken up for fixation of rent. The private respondents have further, in the counter affidavit, pointed out that except for an alleged Parwana of the year 1936, there is nothing more available with the petitioners to show that the land in question was ever used as a graveyard. It was said that even today it is not so used as graveyard but mischievously claim is being raised.
4 Having considered the matter, in my view, these are highly disputed questions of fact involving right, title and interest in the property. This Court is inapt to decide these matters in these proceedings and, as such, relegate the parties to Civil Court of
Patna High Court CWJC No.4875 of 1994 dt.01-04-2015
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competent jurisdiction to decide the matter in accordance with law.
5 With the aforesaid direction, the writ petition stands
disposed of.
(Navaniti Prasad Singh, J)
M.E.H. /-
U
1 issue framed by the court
Whether the High Court in Civil Writ Jurisdiction can decide disputed questions of fact involving right, title, and interest in land.
Bihar State Sunni Wakf Board, through the Secretary
Masood Alam and others
The State of Bihar and others
Navaniti Prasad Singh
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
