- (1.) The plaintiff is in second appeal before this Court aggrieved against the judgments and decree of both the Courts below whereby suit filed by him for permanent injunction for restraining the Gram Panchayat from giving the land in dispute to respondent no. 2/defendant no. 2 and for restraining him from raising any construction thereon, was dismissed.
(2.) Both the Courts below found that the property in question being in ownership of the Gram Panchayat, in terms of provisions of Section 13 of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961 (for short "the 1961 Act"), the Civil Court does not have the jurisdiction to entertain the dispute.
(3.) The only argument raised by learned counsel for the appellant is that the land in question does not fall within the definition of Shamlat Deh as the same was reserved for common purposes under Section 18 of the East Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation) Act, 1948 (for short "the 1948 Act") and that being so the jurisdiction of the Civil Court is not ousted. However, when confronted with the fact as to whether there is any evidence on record to show that the land in question was reserved for common purposes at the time of consolidation under the 1948 Act, the answer obviously was no. Accordingly the land which was allegedly reserved for construction of Community Hall, will fall within the definition of Shamlat Deh as per provisions of the 1961 Act. Once alternative competent authority under the special Act was available for redressal of the issue sought to be raised in the present suit, in my opinion, no illegality has been committed by the Courts below in non suiting the appellant/plaintiff on jurisdiction.;