UNION OF INDIA & Ors. v. VASAVI CO-OP. HOUSING SOCIETY LTD & Ors.

Respondent no. 1 Co-op. Housing Society filed a suit against defendants-appellantsfor declaration of title over the suit land comprising 6 acres 30 guntas in Survey G No.6011 and 61 and for possession thereof from the appellants-defendant Nos.1 to 3 and 7. The respondent plaintiff's case was that it had purchased the suit land from the Pattedar during the year 1981-82. The plaintiff H 180 UNION OF INDIA v. VASAVI CO-OP. HOUSING SOCIETY LTD. 181 relied on sale deeds, Setwar of 1353 Fasli (Ext. A-3) and A the family partition and settlement deed dated 11.12.1939 (Ext. A-2) pertaining to the family of the Pattedar. Defendant No. 3 filed a written statement stating that the suit land belonged to defendant no. 1 and it was locally managed and possessed by defendant No.3. The trial B court decreed the suit. The High Court, in appeal, affirmed the judgment and decree, but noticing that the defendants had made large scale construction of quarters for the Defence Accounts Department, afforded an opportunity to them to provide alternative suitable c extent of land in lieu of the suit scheduled land. Allowing the appeal, the Court HELD: 1.1. It is trite law that in a suit for declaration of title, burden always lies on the plaintiff to make out and D establish a clear case for granting such a declaration and the weakness, if any, of the case set up by the defendants would not be a ground to grant relief to the plaintiff. The plaintiff in a suit for declaration of title and possession . can succeed only on the strength of his own title and that E can be done only by adducing !iufficient evidence to discharge the onus on him, irrespective of the question whether the defendant has proved his case or not. Even if the title set up by the defendants is found against, in the absence of establishment of plaintiff's own title, plaintiff F must be non-suited.[para 12 and 15] [191-G; 192-G] Maran Mar Basselios Catholicos v. Thukalan Paulo Avira AIR1959 SC 31 Nagar Palika, Jind v. Jagat Singh, Advocate 1995 (3) SCR 9 = (1995) 3 SCC 426 - relied on.

1.2. In the instant case, the trial court as well as the High Court rather than examining in depth, the question, as to whether the plaintiffs have succeeded in establishing their title on the scheduled suit land, went on to examine in depth the weakness of the defendants; G H 182 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2014) 1 S.C.R. A title. The defendants relied on the entries in the GLR and their possession or re-possession over the suit land to non-suit the plaintiffs. The court went on to examine the correctness and evidentiary value of the entries in the GLR in the context of the history and scope of B Cantonment Act, 1924 and the Cantonment Land Administration Rules, 1925 and tried tO establish that no reliance could be placed on the GLR. The question is not whether the GLR could be accepted or not, the question is, whether the plaintiff could prove its title over the suit c property. The entries in the GLR by themselves may not constitute title, but the question is whether entries made in Ext.A-3 (Setwar of 1353 Fasli) relied upon by the plaintiff would confer title on the plaintiff. [para 161 [192-H; 193- A-C] D

1.3. This Court in several Judgments has held that the revenue records do not confer title. Even if the entries in the Record of Rights carry evidentiary value, that itself would not confer any title on the plaintiff over the suit land. Ext.X-1 is Classer Register of 1347 Fasli which E according to the trial court, speaks of the ownership of the plaintiff's vendor's property. These entries, as such, would not confer any title. Plaintiffs have to show, independent of those entries that the plaintiff's predecessors-in-interest had title over the property in F question and it is that property which they have purchased. The only document that has been produced before the court was the registered family settlement and partition deed dated 11.12.1939 wherein, admittedly, the suit land in question has not been mentioned. [para 17 G and 20) [193-D; 194-D-F]