B S YADAVA Vs. PRABHUDAYAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This second appeal has come up before this Court against the judgment and decree dated 19-3-1976 passed by Shri Ravi Varma, Additional District Judge, Shivpuri in Civil Appeal No. 12-B of 1974.

(2.) The brief facts are that the respondent filed a suit for damages against the State of Madhya Pradesh and the appellant alleging that he was owner of the disputed land and had constructed 4 flush latrines in the land and an amount of Rs. 4,000/- was spent by him for the said construction. The Tahsildar treating the said construction to be an encroachment started proceedings u/s. 248 of the M.P. Land Revenue Code, 1959, and the aforesaid constructions were demolished on 29-7-68. The plaintiff's contention was that he was the owner of the property and the constructions could not have been treated as an encroachment on Government land. Besides this, other legal pleas of jurisdiction, limitation, Section 80, C.P.C. were also taken. The learned trial Court dismissed the suit holding it as time barred. An appeal was preferred against that judgment and decree and the learned first appellate Court reversed the decree of the trial Court and has decreed the suit for the recovery of a sum of Rs. 4,000/against the appellant.

(3.) The appeal before me was pressed on two legal points :- (1) The suit was barred by time; and (2) The suit is liable to be dismissed for want of any notice against the appellant u/S. 80, C.P.C. Consequently no decree can be passed against him for damages for an action which was lawfully conducted as Tahsildar Point No. (1)