- (1.) The plaintiffs' suits (Nos. 124 of 1982 and 125 of 1982) for declaration of title and injunction were dismissed by the learned trial court. In first appeal, the learned District Judge reversed the decree of dismissal and decided the suits in favour of the plaintiffs. The said decree has been affirmed in second appeal by the Bombay High Court. Aggrieved the present appeals have been filed by the defendants in the two suits.
(2.) Insofar as recital of the relevant facts is concerned it will suffice to notice that the plaintiffs' suits were initially for injunction against one Essar Construction Company (Suit No.125 of 1982) and one Ardeshir B. Kurshetji & Sons Pvt. Ltd. (Suit No.124 of 1982) who were raising certain constructions on the suit land of which the plaintiffs claimed to be owners. Initially the present appellants/defendants were not parties to the said suits. However, subsequently they were impleaded as defendants as, according to the plaintiffs, they were informed by the construction companies that they were authorised to raise the constructions on the suit land by the villagers of Mandva Village who claimed to be owners of the land. The appellants/defendants who were so impleaded and proceeded against in a representative capacity filed their written statement in the suits denying the title of the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs asserted their title, specifically by seeking the additional relief of declaration of title which was allowed to be brought on record by permitting an amendment of the suits insofar as the relief(s) claimed is concerned.
(3.) The basis of the claim of the plaintiffs date to the year 1916 when the suit land measuring 14.5 acres was recorded in the name of one Amarsi Gujjar, the grandfather of the present respondent-plaintiffs. It is the case of the plaintiffs that upon demise of Amarsi Gujjar in the year 1926, the property devolved by survivorship on Hirachand Gujjar, the father of the plaintiffs and on his demise in the year 1971 the same devolved upon the plaintiffs.;