Decades-old land dispute ends as HC upholds 1978 verdict after 39 years

An over five-decades-old legal dispute stemming from a 1978 verdict by an Ambala court involving more than 259 kanal agricultural land has finally been resolved with Justice Vikas Bahl of the Punjab and Haryana High Court delivering the verdict following marathon hearings spanning four months.

The regular second appeal (RSA), filed in 1985, was among the oldest cases pending before the high court. Presently, only one RSA from 1981, and another from the same year 1985, is still pending. Five other RSAs filed in 1986 await resolution, alongside “thousands” of others filed later. In all, a staggering 48,256 second appeals remain pending.

The wait for justice may sound atypical, but is not exceptional. National Judicial Data Grid — the monitoring tool to identify, manage and reduce pendency — indicates that 4,33,239 cases are pending in the high court, including 1,63,235 criminal matters tied to life and liberty. As many as 1,10,463 cases, or 25 per cent of the total pendency, fall into the “Above 10 years” category.

The case, pending since 1985, was finally placed before Justice Vikas Bahl’s Bench on July 25 this year and decided on November 12 after eight swift hearings. The delay is particularly striking, as a concerted effort to expedite hearings led to its resolution in a short span. Yet, it languished for decades – like more than a few similar disputes – buried under the weight of an overwhelming backlog plaguing the judicial process.

The case pertains to agricultural land measuring 259 kanals and 17 marlas, along with another parcel measuring 7 kanals and 10 marlas, and possession of a bara and house in Anandpur Jalbera village in Ambala tehsil.

The plaintiff, Kishan Singh, filed a suit for declaration that he was the owner in accordance with the jamabandi for 1963-64. It was averred in the plaint that Nathu Ram, the last male holder of the property in dispute, died issueless in August 1964 and had left behind no other relatives except the plaintiff “who was his father’s sister’s son”.

Justice Bahl’s Bench was told that the suit for declaration filed by the plaintiff-Kishan Singh was decreed by Ambala Senior Sub-Judge vide judgment and decree dated September 30, 1978. The first appeal filed against the order was dismissed on January 30, 1985, passed by Ambala Additional District Judge, resulting in the appeal before Justice Bahl’s Bench.

In his 76-page verdict, Justice Bahl asserted: “Keeping in view the facts and circumstances, this court is of the opinion that the judgments of the trial court as well as the first appellate court are in accordance with law and deserve to be upheld and the present regular second appeal deserves to be dismissed and is accordingly dismissed.”