IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA C.R. No.1087 of 2008 RAMAKANT PAL & ORS Versus JANGI GARERI & ORS ----------- 2 31/7/2008 Heard counsel for the petitioners and counsel for the State. In the opinion of this Court when it was at the instance of the petitioners and other villagers that with regard to the suit land an encroachment proceeding was initiated under Bihar Public Land Encroachment Act (hereinafter referred to as the Act) and the same was also disposed of under the orders of the Collector under the Act which also got affirmed by the appellate authority, any suit filed by the plaintiffs the alleged encroacher claiming their right or title on a public land would also necessarily involve element of public interest. Consequently, if the petitioners seeking to represent such public interest had sought intervention for being added as a party to the suit the court below in exercise of power under Order-I Rule 10(2) of the Code of Civil Procedure ought to have allowed the same as the petitioners were definitely proper party, if not necessary party in as much as their presence could have enabled the Court effectually and completely to adjudicate upon and settle all the questions involved in the suit. Mr. Anil Kumar Jha, Learned Government Advocate appearing on behalf of the State, representing the State and its officials who are also defendants in the suit, has rightly conceded 2 that the position of the petitioners as with regard to safe-guarding the public interest in respect of suit land which is said to be Rasta, cannot be minimized and therefore Mr. Jha is also of the view that the petitioners should have been allowed to be impleaded as party in suit. In the light of what has been recorded above in the aforementioned paragraph, it has to be held that the petitioners are proper parties and as their impleadment as prayed for should have been allowed. That having been not done by the court below, this Court would not approve its such order and accordingly the impugned order is set aside with a direction to the Court below to implead the petitioners as defendants in the suit and they should be also allowed to contest the same. With the aforesaid observations and directions this Civil Revision application is allowed. ( Mihir Kumar Jha, J. ) Abhay Kumar