Joint owner normally cannot prevent by injunction the usage of a portion of the joint property by another co-owner

Cause Title : Tarsem Singh vs Major Singh, High Court Of Punjab And Haryana, RSA-5381-2019 (O&M)

Date of Judgment/Order : 25.07.2022

Corum : Hon’ble Mrs. Justice Alka Sarin

Citied: Bhartu vs. Ram Sarup [1981 PLJ 204]

            Bachan Singh vs. Swaran Singh [2000(3) RCR (Civil) 70]

Background

   

The plaintiff-appellant contended that the plaintiff-appellant is in exclusive possession of the suit land and the defendant-respondents are trying to illegally and forcibly interfere in his possession and, as such the plaintiff-appellant is entitled to the injunction as prayed for. Reliance was also placed on the entries of the khasra girdawri wherein, as per counsel, the plaintiff-appellant and his brothers are shown cultivating the suit land. The plaintiff-appellant claimed that the defendant-respondents were encroaching on their property and appealed for permanent injunction against the defendant-respondents. 

On the basis of the pleadings of the parties and the evidence on the record, the Trial Court dismissed the suit of the plaintiff-appellant as well as the counter-claim of the defendant-respondents. Aggrieved by the said judgment and decree, an appeal was preferred by the plaintiff-appellant. The defendant-respondents filed objections. The lower Appellate Court dismissed both the appeal as well as the objections. Hence this appeal.

Judgment

The High Court observed that the plaintiff-appellant has failed to establish his exclusive possession over the suit land and there being no finding that any act by the defendant-respondents was detrimental to the interests of the other co-owners in the joint land and both the Courts below have concurrently found that the suit land is joint. Once the suit land is not partitioned and the parties to the suit are co-sharers and co-owners, each and every co-sharer is in possession of every inch of land. A joint owner cannot prevent by injunction the usage of a portion of the joint property by another co-owner unless this amounts to wastage or destruction or injury to the other co- owners. Every co-owner has a right to use the joint property in a husband like manner not inconsistent with similar rights of other co-owners.