Delhi High Court
Shri Karambir & Ors. vs Gaon Sabha Rangpuri & Anr. on 24 May, 2023
Neutral Citation Number: 2023:DHC:3663
$~44
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
% Decided on: 24th May, 2023
+ W.P.(C) 5208/2023 & CM APPL. 28060/2023
SHRI KARAMBIR & ORS. ..... Petitioners
Through: Mr. N.S. Dalal with Mr. Alok
Kumar and Ms. Rachana Dalal,
Advocates.
(M): 7082348017
Email: [email protected]
versus
GAON SABHA RANGPURI & ANR. ..... Respondents
Through: Mr. Mohit Bhardwaj, Advocate
for respondent no. 1.
Mr. Arun Panwar, Advocate
with Mr. Pankaj Yadav, OSD
(Litigation) and Mr. Surender,
APO for respondent/DOE.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE MINI PUSHKARNA
[Physical Hearing/ Hybrid Hearing]
MINI PUSHKARNA, J. (ORAL):
1. With the consent of the parties, the present petition is taken up
for final disposal today itself.
2. CM APPL. 27037/2023 has been filed on behalf of the
Directorate of Education (DOE) under Order 1 Rule 10 read with
Section 151 CPC seeking impleadment in the present writ petition,
being a necessary and proper party.
3. Notice had been issued on the said application on 22.05.2023.
With the consent of the parties, the present application is taken up for
adjudication today itself.
4. CM APPL. 28060/2023 is an application on behalf of the
Signature Not Verified
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Signing Date:25.05.2023
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Neutral Citation Number: 2023:DHC:3663
Directorate of Education for vacation of the ex-parte interim order
dated 25.04.2023.
5. Issue notice.
6. Notice is accepted by learned counsel appearing for the
petitioners.
7. With the consent of the parties, the present application is also
taken up for final hearing today itself.
8. By way of the aforesaid applications, it has been submitted on
behalf of the DOE that the petitioners have no right, title and interest
in the property bearing Khasra No. 662 (23-04) bearing Khatouni
Number 503/72, Village Malikpur Kohi alias Rangpuri, Delhi. It is
submitted that petitioners have never been in the physical possession
of the said property, therefore, there is no question of dispossessing
the petitioners from the said property.
9. It is further the case on behalf of the DOE that the land in
question was earlier in possession of respondent no. 1 i.e. the Gaon
Sabha. After following due procedure of law, the said property was
allotted to the Directorate of Education vide orders no. F-16/
Land/Rangpuri/AL-18(1)/2011/225 dated 19.09.2012 & F No.
BDO/SW/Allot/Rangpuri/12012/1168-1179 dated 14.06.2012. It is
submitted that after the allotment of the said land, possession of the
property was handed over to the DOE on 26.09.2012.
10. It is further submitted on behalf of the DOE that the present
petition filed on behalf of the petitioners, is an abuse of process of
law. It is submitted that the petitioners have not approached this Court
with clean hands and are guilty of suppressing relevant and material
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Digitally Signed By:CHARU
Signing Date:25.05.2023
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Neutral Citation Number: 2023:DHC:3663
facts. It is submitted that the petitioners are guilty of misrepresenting
the facts before this Court.
11. Learned counsel appearing for the DOE relies upon the
judgment in the case of K. Jayaram and Others Vs Bangalore
Development Authority and Others, (2022) 12 SCC 815. By referring
to the said judgment, it is contended that wherever there is an abuse of
process of law and there is concealment and suppression of material
facts, the same would amount to playing fraud with the Court. Thus, if
there is non-disclosure of full facts before this Court, then no
indulgence can be given to such litigants.
12. It is the case on behalf of the DOE that the petitioners herein
had filed a civil suit in the year 2013, titled as Jai Bhagwan & Others
Vs. Gaon Sabha Rangpuri & Another, Case No. 25/RA/2013. In the
said suit, the petitioners herein had sought declaration of bhumidari
rights before the Court of Learned Sub Divisional Magistrate
(SDM)/Revenue Assistant (RA), Vasant Vihar, Kapashera, New
Delhi. The DOE was not made a party before the learned SDM/RA in
the said proceedings. Subsequently, upon an application on behalf of
DOE, the DOE was made a party in the said proceedings. It is
submitted that the learned SDM/RA, Vasant Vihar, Kapashera, New
Delhi dismissed the said suit of the petitioners for non-prosecution
vide order dated 12.01.2023.
13. It is further submitted that the petitioners filed another suit for
permanent injunction titled as Jai Bhagwan Vs. Govt of NCT of
Delhi, CS No. 16733/2016 before the Court of ADJ, Dwarka Courts in
the year 2016. It is submitted that petitioner no. 1 herein was plaintiff
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Digitally Signed By:CHARU
Signing Date:25.05.2023
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Neutral Citation Number: 2023:DHC:3663
no. 5 in the said suit; petitioner no. 2 was plaintiff no. 8; petitioner no.
3 was plaintiff no. 49 and petitioner no. 4 herein was plaintiff no. 113
in the said suit.
14. It is submitted that since the petitioners had not made DOE a
party in the said suit, an application was filed on behalf of DOE for its
impleadment as necessary and proper party. Thus, vide order dated
10.11.2014, the application of the DOE was allowed and DOE was
impleaded as a necessary party.
15. It is submitted that the said Civil Suit, CS No. 16733/2016 was
ultimately dismissed in default on 14.12.2017. It is submitted that the
petitioners have not challenged the said order dated 14.12.2017 and
that the said order has attained finality against the petitioners.
16. It is further submitted that the DOE has been in possession of
the land in question i.e. Khasra No. 662 (23-04) bearing Khatouni
Number 503/72, Village Malikpur Kohi alias Rangpuri, Delhi, since
the year 2012. Thus, it is submitted that DOE is a necessary party in
the present writ petition. Further, it is also submitted that the stay that
was granted by this Court on the first day of hearing i.e. 25.04.2023,
may be vacated, as the same was procured by suppression of all the
aforesaid facts.
17. Learned counsel appearing for respondent no. 1 Gram Sabha
has also supported the case of the DOE. Learned counsel for the Gram
Sabha has relied upon certain documents, which have been handed
over to this Court. It is submitted on behalf of Learned counsel
appearing for respondent no. 1/Gram Sabha, that the area in question
has already been urbanized in the year 2019 vide notification dated
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Digitally Signed By:CHARU
Signing Date:25.05.2023
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Neutral Citation Number: 2023:DHC:3663
21.09.2019. After urbanization of the area, the land has been handed
over by the Gram Sabha to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA)
in the year 2021 on 30.07.2021.
18. By reference to the aforesaid documents, as handed over to this
Court, it is submitted on behalf of respondent no. 1 that at the time of
handing over of the land by the Gram Sabha to the DDA after its
urbanization, it is recorded very categorically in the documents of
handing over to DDA, that the land which is subject matter of the
present petition, has already been handed over to the DOE.
19. On the other hand, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner
submits that in the revenue records, Gram Sabha is still shown as
bhumidar. It is further submitted that even before this Court, there is
categorical admission on behalf of the learned counsel for the Gram
Sabha that the land ultimately was handed over by the Gram Sabha to
the DDA. Therefore, he submits that the DOE was not made a party in
the proceedings that were initiated on behalf of the petitioners herein.
He further submits that no rights can be created in favour of the DOE
on the basis of the allotment letter as relied by the DOE. He further
submits that the petitioners could have claimed bhumidari rights only
against the person who is recorded as bhumidar in the revenue
records. Therefore, DOE was never made a party and that there is no
suppression of material facts from this Court. He further submits that
no agricultural land could have been handed over for purposes, other
than agricultural purposes.
20. I have heard learned counsels for the parties and perused the
documents on record.
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed By:CHARU
Signing Date:25.05.2023
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Neutral Citation Number: 2023:DHC:3663
21. Perusal of the documents as filed on behalf of the DOE clearly
show that by allotment letter dated 14.06.2012 issued by the Office of
The Director (Panchayat) in favour of Director, Education, Directorate
of Education, the land in question has already been handed over to the
DOE.
22. By the said allotment letter dated 14.06.2012, allotment of land
measuring 23 bighas 4 biswas of Gaon Sabha land in Village
Rangpuri, District South west has been allotted to the Directorate of
Education for opening of a new government school. This allotment
letter was issued in favour of the DOE after approval from the
Lieutenant Governor, Delhi.
23. The documents on record also show that the land in question
has already been handed over to the DOE, vide Possession
proceedings dated 26.09.2012. Thus, though the petitioners may be
claiming bhumidari rights with respect to the land in question,
however, the fact remains that as per the documents on record, the
said land bearing Khasra No. 662 (23-04) bearing Khatouni Number
503/72, Village Malikpur Kohi alias Rangpuri, Delhi has already been
allotted in favour of the DOE and possession of which is already with
the DOE since the year 2012.
24. This Court also notes of the fact that in the previous litigation as
initiated by the petitioners herein, the DOE was made a party, when
application in this regard was made by the DOE.
25. Considering the aforesaid facts and circumstances of the present
case, it is deemed expedient to make DOE as party in the present case.
Thus, the application of the DOE being CM APPL. 27037/2023 is
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Digitally Signed By:CHARU
Signing Date:25.05.2023
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Neutral Citation Number: 2023:DHC:3663
allowed and the Directorate of Education is impleaded as a party in
the present writ petition.
26. Considering the aforesaid submissions, the application being
CM APPL. 28060/2023 is also allowed. The ex-parte stay order dated
25.04.2023 as granted by this Court with respect to maintaining status
quo of the land in question, is hereby vacated.
27. Since the DOE has already been handed over the possession of
the land in question, the DOE would be at liberty to carry out
construction of school building as well as construction of a boundary
wall for the purposes of securing the land in question.
28. However, since the petitioners are claiming bhumidari rights
over the land in question, it is directed that any construction made by
the DOE shall be subject to final adjudication of the claims of the
petitioners with respect to their bhumidari rights in appropriate
proceedings.
29. It is further clarified that this Court has not given any finding on
the merits of the case of the petitioners or the DOE with respect to the
entitlement of the land in question. The present petition is being
decided on the basis of prima facie case as found in favour of the
DOE, on the basis of documents as filed/produced before this Court
by the DOE as well as by the Gram Sabha.
30. With the aforesaid directions, the present petition is disposed of.
31. The date of 30.05.2023 is cancelled.
MINI PUSHKARNA, J
MAY 24, 2023/c
Signature Not Verified
Digitally Signed By:CHARU
Signing Date:25.05.2023
14:20:27
