RSA No. 2392 of 2006 (O&M) (1) IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH RSA No. 2392 of 2006 (O&M) Date of Decision: 7.7.2009 Ram Lal and others ......Appellants Versus Hindu High School .......Respondent CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE HEMANT GUPTA. 1. Whether Reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment? 2. To be referred to the Reporters or not? 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest? Present: Shri Raj Mohan Singh, Advocate, for the appellants. Shri S.C. Kapur, Advocate, Senior Advocate, with Shri H.C. Mahna, Advocate, for the respondent. HEMANT GUPTA, J. (Oral). The plaintiffs are is second appeal aggrieved against the judgment and decree passed by the Courts below, whereby the suit for declaration that the plaintiff has become owner in possession of the suit land on account of having acquired occupancy tenancy rights was dismissed. Though the Courts below have examined voluminous evidence led by the parties, but the fact remains that the plaintiffs have pleaded that the defendant-School was allotted the suit land along with other land as mortgagee with possession somewhere in the year 1963 and that the defendant inducted father of the plaintiffs-Girdhari Lal, as tenant at Will on RSA No. 2392 of 2006 (O&M) (2) payment of Rs.40/- per year, in the year 1963. The extracts from para No.2 of the plaint read as under:- “2. That the defendant-School was allotted the suit land alongwith other lands as mortgagee with possession somewhere in the year 1963. The defendant school inducted the father of the plaintiff Shri Girdhari Lal son of Shri Bhagwan Dass as tenant at will on total land measuring 104 kanals 14 marlas on payment of rent of Rs.40/- per year in the year 1963 and the proportionate rent chakota on the land mentioned in para no.1 of this plaint was fixed as Rs.21.05 per year.” On the basis of the aforesaid fact pleaded, the plaintiff claimed that they have become owner in possession of the suit land having acquired occupancy tenancy rights. Section 2(f) of the Punjab Occupancy Tenants (Vesting of Proprietary Rights) Act, 1952 defines occupancy tenant as a tenant who, immediately before the commencement of this Act, is recorded as an occupancy tenant in the revenue records and includes a tenant who, after such commencement, obtains a right of occupancy in respect of the land held by him whether by agreement with the landlord or through a court of competent jurisdiction or otherwise, and includes also the predecessors and successors in interest of an occupancy tenant. In view of the pleading raised by the plaintiff as reproduced above, the plaintiff is not recorded as an occupancy tenant before the commencement of the Act. Therefore, the claim of proprietary rights of the occupancy tenant, is not available to the plaintiff. RSA No. 2392 of 2006 (O&M) (3) Consequently, I do not find any patent illegality or material irregularity in the finding recorded or that the finding recorded gives rise to any substantial question of law in the present appeal. Hence, the present appeal is dismissed. (HEMANT GUPTA) JUDGE 07-07-2009 ds