JABALPUR, India, June 17 -- Madhya Pradesh High Court issued the following judgment/order on May 14:

1. This Writ Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has been filed challenging the alleged high-handed, illegal, and arbitrary actions of the Respondents, who purportedly attempted to dispossess the petitioners from the subject property without any prior notice or opportunity of hearing.

2. During the pendency of the petition, by way of an amendment, the petitioners have additionally prayed for the issuance of a writ in the nature of certiorari or mandamus for the quashment of the FIR registered against them at Crime No. 142 at Police Station Naugaon, District Dhar. The petitioners further seek an appropriate writ, order, or direction commanding the Respondents to restore the possession of the property, alleging that the Respondents have illegally claimed to have taken possession thereof and have obstructed the course of justice.

Facts of the Case

3. The subject matter of the dispute is the land bearing Survey No. 770 (old No. 748), admeasuring 0.493 hectare, situated in village Naugaon, District Dhar. The petitioners assert that this land has been owned and recorded as "Abadi, Masih (Mission) Hospital" in the revenue records since at least the year 1927-28.

4. The petitioners claim that ownership rights were granted by the Ruler of the erstwhile Dhar State in 1895. It is asserted that the ancestors of Petitioner No. 1 constructed buildings, including a hospital and residential quarters, in 1897, with further reconstruction carried out in the year 1925.

5. The village Naugaon was included in the municipal area of Dhar vide notification dated 02.07.1965. The property was subsequently recorded as Municipal No. 203, Bakhtawar Marg, Dhar, initially in the name of Mission Hospital through Dr. E.P. Das, and after her death, through Petitioner No. 1.

6. By an order dated 22.07.2008, the Sub-Divisional Officer (Nazul), Dhar, terminated proceedings initiated against Petitioner No. 1 under Section 248 of the M.P. Land Revenue Code. A subsequent notice for dispossession issued in 2018 was also dropped by the SDO (Revenue) vide an order dated 13.05.2019.

7. Asserting ownership rights, Petitioner No. 1 executed a registered lease deed on 23.02.2008 and a registered agreement to sell on 29.01.2009 in favor of Petitioner No. 2. However, on 20.12.2019, the Respondents allegedly attempted to forcibly dispossess the petitioners by placing locks on parts of the premises.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://mphc.gov.in/storage/upload/indore/MPHCIND/2020/WP/6622/WP_6622_2020_FinalOrder_14-05-2026.pdf)

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.