Full Judgment Text
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REPORTABLE
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CIVIL APPEAL NO.10664 OF 2010
(arising out of S.L.P.(C) No. 21199 of 2007)
Safiya Bee …. Appellant
v.
Mohd. Vajahath Hussain alias Fasi ….Respondent
J U D G M E N T
CYRIAC JOSEPH, J.
1. Leave granted.
2. According to the appellant Safiya Bee, vide a registered Sale
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Deed dated 5 February, 1969, she had purchased from one
Mohd. Hussain houses bearing Nos. 2-5-254, 2-5-255 and 2-5-
256 along with the appurtenant lands. The respondent Mohd.
Vajahath Hussain alias Fasi forcibly occupied the house bearing
No. 2-5-256 (re-numbered as 4-3-65). The building has a plinth
area of 1114 sq.ft. and the appurtenant vacant land has an area of
9341 sq.ft. Alleging that the respondent is a `land grabber’, the
appellant filed L.G.O.P. No. 5 of 1990 under Section 7-A of the
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Andhra Pradesh Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 1982
(hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) before the Special Tribunal,
Adilabad seeking possession of the house and the appurtenant
land from the respondent. The respondent contested L.G.O.P.
No. 5 of 1990 and contended that he was not a land grabber, that
he, his mother and his brothers were in possession of the disputed
property in their own rights under law and that they were the
owners of the disputed property. He also disputed the claim of the
appellant that she had purchased the property as per registered
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Sale Deed dated 5 February, 1969. He alleged that the registered
Sale Deed was a fabricated and concocted document and that late
Mohd. Hussain was not in a position to sell the property as he was
not of sound mind at the relevant time. According to the
respondent, the appellant did not have the financial capacity to
purchase the house and there was no need for Mohd. Hussain to
sell the house.
3. After considering the pleadings in the case and the evidence
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adduced, the Special Tribunal allowed the application on 13
June, 1997 and directed the respondent to deliver the property to
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the appellant. In its order dated 13 June, 1997 passed in
L.G.O.P. No. 5 of 1990, the Special Tribunal held that:
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(a) Mohd. Hussain executed the registered Sale Deed dated 5
February, 1969 in respect of the disputed property in favour of the
appellant after receiving the consideration;
(b) The appellant is the owner of the disputed property;
(c) Mohd. Hussain was in sound state of mind till his death;
(d) The respondent could not establish that Mohd. Hussain had
gifted the northern portion of the house to his younger son Mohd.
Zafar Hussain and the southern portion with its open land to his
elder son Shaukat Hussain;
(e) The respondent has grabbed the disputed property and being a
‘land grabber’ he is liable to be evicted from the disputed land; and
(f) The mother and the brothers of the respondent are not in
possession of the disputed property and the respondent alone has
been in possession of the property after grabbing it.
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4. Aggrieved by the order dated 13 June, 1997 of the Special
Tribunal in L.G.O.P. No. 5 of 1990, the respondent filed an appeal
being L.G.A. No. 30 of 1997 in the Special Court constituted under
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the Act. By its judgment dated 30 October, 1998, the Special
Court allowed the appeal holding that the application was not
maintainable before the Special Tribunal. Accordingly, the Special
Court set aside the order of the Special Tribunal in L.G.O.P. No. 5
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of 1990 and directed the Special Tribunal to return the application
to the appellant herein for presentation to a proper court if so
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advised. In the judgment dated 30 October, 1998, the Special
Court held that since the application of the appellant was in
respect of a house property which was alleged to have been
grabbed by the respondent, it was not maintainable before the
Special Tribunal. According to the Special Court, if an existing
building itself is grabbed, the same will not fall within the
jurisdiction of the Special Tribunal or the Special Court and if land
is grabbed and thereafter structures are raised, it may fall within
the jurisdiction of the Special Tribunal or the Special Court. It
was also made clear by the Special Court that in view of its
decision that L.G.O.P. No. 5 of 1990 was not maintainable before
the Special Tribunal, it was not going into the merits of the case.
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5. Challenging the judgment dated 30 October, 1998 of the
Special Court, the appellant herein filed W.P. No. 35561 of 1998 in
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the High Court of Andhra Pradesh. By its judgment dated 4
July, 2000, the High Court allowed the writ petition, set aside the
judgment of the Special Court and remitted the matter back to the
Special Court for fresh hearing and disposal as to whether
property has been grabbed by the respondent and whether he is
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liable to be evicted delivering possession of the property to the
appellant. To hold that L.G.O.P. No. 5 of 1990 was maintainable
before the Special Tribunal, the High Court relied on Section 2(c)
of the Act which states that land includes rights in or over land,
benefits to arise out of land and buildings, structures and other
things attached to the earth or permanently fastened to anything
attached to the earth. The High Court also pointed out that the
word `land’, as defined in other statutes and as decided by the
High Court and the Supreme Court in similar matters, includes
super-structure, building etc. unless they are excluded from the
definition of `land’ by a Special Act. The High Court accepted the
contention of the appellant that the Act applies not only to lands
but also to lands with building.
6. The above judgment in W.P. No. 35561 of 1998 was accepted
by the respondent as it was not challenged by him before any
higher forum. Thus, the said judgment became final and binding
on the respondent.
7. On the basis of the remand of the matter by the High Court,
L.G.A. No. 30 of 1997 was again heard and disposed of by the
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Special Court on 16 November, 2000. As per the judgment dated
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16 November, 2000, the appeal was dismissed, the order of the
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Special Tribunal was upheld and the respondent herein was
directed to deliver possession of the petition schedule property to
the appellant herein within a period of two months. While
dismissing the appeal, the Special Court held that the Sale Deed
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dated 5 February, 1969 relied upon by the appellant was true
and valid and was binding on the respondent. The Special Court
also rejected the contention of the respondent that there was an
oral gift of the property in the year 1954. Though the learned
counsel for the respondent tried to contend that the respondent
had perfected his title by adverse possession, the said contention
was not entertained by the Special Court on the ground that the
respondent had not raised any plea or led any evidence in that
regard and such a point was not argued before the Special
Tribunal and no finding was recorded by the Special Tribunal.
8. Thereupon the respondent herein filed W.P. No. 304 of 2001
in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh challenging the judgment
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dated 16 November, 2000 of the Special Court in L.G.A. No. 30 of
1997. When the writ petition was heard by the High Court, the
main question raised related to the jurisdiction of the Special
Tribunal to consider the application in L.G.O.P. No. 5 of 1990 filed
by the appellant herein as it was in respect of a house property
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with its appurtenant land. It was contended on behalf of the writ
petitioner that the Special Tribunal had no jurisdiction to deal
with the house property and, therefore, the impugned orders were
without jurisdiction. It was also contended that the remand order
passed by the High Court in the earlier W.P. No. 35561 of 1998
was in the nature of an interlocutory order and was passed
without considering the relevant provisions of the Act and hence
the order was without jurisdiction, a nullity and would not operate
as a bar. However, on behalf of the respondent in the writ petition
(appellant herein), it was contended that the remand order which
had become final and binding would operate as res judicata and
that the buildings and structures existing on the land would be
covered by the definition of `land’ in Section 2(c) of the Act. It was
also pointed out that the extent of the open land was much more
than the extent of the area covered by the building. After noticing
the contentions of the parties, the High Court proceeded to
consider the following questions :
(i) Whether the property in question is a building or
land? and
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(ii) Whether the Special Tribunal has jurisdiction to
entertain an application in respect of a house property
with its appurtenant open land?
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9. In its judgment dated 18 April, 2007, the High Court found
that the conclusions reached by the Special Tribunal were well
founded upon the oral and documentary evidence, that the
Special Court too, on re-appraisal of the evidence, concurred with
the conclusions reached by the Special Tribunal and that there
were concurrent findings of the Special Tribunal and the Special
Court on the contentious issues between the parties. After
considering the particulars furnished by the appellant in the
different columns of the application filed before the Special
Tribunal, the High Court observed that the property in dispute
was the house bearing Municipal No. 4-3-65 with its appurtenant
open land. Even though the question of jurisdiction of the Special
Tribunal to consider and decide the application in L.G.O.P. No. 5
of 1990 had already been considered and decided in the earlier
W.P. No. 35561 of 1998, the High Court proceeded to again
consider the question of maintainability of the said application
before the Special Tribunal. By way of justification for such
consideration, the High Court has stated in the judgment that
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“since the decision of the court while remitting the matter to the
Special Court for fresh disposal was mainly dependant upon the
interpretation of a provision of the Act, which is a pure question of
law involving the interpretation process, such a decision will not
operate as res judicata ”. The High Court has held that “if an
application is filed seeking possession of building along with its
appurtenant land because the building in question is in existence
on the land and is surrounded by the vacant land, it cannot be
said that it is a case of grabbing of land, but it is certainly a case
of occupation of a building”. According to the High Court, the Act
applies to the lands but not to the buildings and when it is alleged
that the land is grabbed, the land along with the existing super-
structure or building thereon can together reflect as property in
dispute and in such a case the Special Tribunal or the Special
Court has jurisdiction to adjudicate. But if the application is for
seeking possession of building along with its appurtenant land,
the Special Tribunal or the Special Court has no jurisdiction to
adjudicate the dispute. The High Court has drawn a distinction
between “building with its appurtenant land” and “land along with
building”. Based on such reasoning, the High Court has held that
since the dispute in the case was in respect of a building with its
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appurtenant land, the matter would not come squarely within the
jurisdiction of the Special Tribunal. The High Court has also
observed that even though the applicant seemed to have a good
case on the factual aspect, unfortunately the applicant
approached a wrong forum which had no jurisdiction to
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adjudicate. As per the judgment dated 18 April 2007, the High
Court allowed the writ petition and set aside the judgment dated
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16 November, 2000 of the Special Court as well as the order
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dated 13 June, 1997 of the Special Tribunal.
10. The appellant has filed this appeal against the said judgment
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dated 18 April, 2007 of the High Court in W.P. No. 304 of 2001.
We have heard the learned counsel for the parties and have
considered the materials placed on record.
11. The basic question to be considered is whether the High
Court was correct in holding that the appellant’s application under
Section 7-A of the Act was not maintainable before the Special
Tribunal “as the property in dispute was a building with its
appurtenant land”. The Andhra Pradesh Land Grabbing
(Prohibition) Act, 1982 was enacted to prohibit the activity of land
grabbing in the State of Andhra Pradesh and to provide for
matters connected therewith. As per Section 1(3), the Act applies
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to all lands situated within the limits of urban agglomeration as
defined in Clause (n) of Section 2 of the Urban Land (Ceiling and
Regulation) Act, 1976 and a Municipality. As per Section 1(3-A),
the Act applies also to any other lands situated in such areas as
the Government may, by notification, specify. Section 2(e) defines
‘land grabbing’ as hereunder:
“ ‘ land grabbing ’ means every activity of grabbing of
any land (whether belonging to the Government, a
local authority, a religious or charitable institution or
endowment, including a wakf, or any other private
person) by a person or group of persons, without any
lawful entitlement and with a view to illegally taking
possession of such lands, or enter into or create illegal
tenancies or lease and licences agreements or any
other illegal agreements in respect of such lands, or to
construct unauthorised structures thereon for sale or
hire, or give such lands to any person on rental or
lease and licence basis for construction, or use and
occupation, of unauthorized structures; and the term
‘to grab land’ shall be construed accordingly.”
Section 2(c) defines ‘land’ as hereunder:
“ ‘land’ includes rights in or over land, benefits to arise
out of land and buildings, structures and other things
attached to the earth or permanently fastened to
anything attached to the earth”
The above definition of ‘land’ makes it clear that the expression
‘land’ includes “buildings, structures and other things attached to
the earth”. In view of such inclusive definition of `land’, grabbing
a building attached to the earth amounts to land grabbing for the
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purposes of this Act. Hence, the High Court erred in holding that
the Act applies to the land but not to the buildings. The High
Court was clearly wrong in holding that “if an application is filed
seeking possession of building along with its appurtenant land,
because the building in question is in existence on the land and is
surrounded by the vacant land, it cannot be said that it is a case
of grabbing of land”. In our view, if a building along with the land
on which it stands is the subject matter of the application under
Section 7-A of the Act, such application is maintainable before the
Special Tribunal. The distinction drawn by the High Court
between “building with appurtenant land” and “land along with
building” is artificial and hyper-technical and it defeats the very
purpose of the legislation. In the light of the definition of `land’
under Section 2(c) of the Act, both the above descriptions
practically mean the same thing vis-à-vis `land grabbing’ and there
is no logic or justification for drawing a distinction between them.
Hence, the High Court erred in holding that the application filed
by the appellant was not maintainable before the Special Tribunal.
12. It is to be noted that in Column 10 of the application
submitted by the appellant, Survey Number and Sub-Division
Number of the land were given as:
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“ House No.4-3-65, 2-5-256 (old) and open land
comprising of 9341 square feet. ”
In Column 11, the extent of land was stated as:
“Open land 9341 square feet , Plinth area of the house
1114 square feet. ”
Against Column 14 relating to summary of claim made and the
provision of law under which it is preferred, the entry was as
follows:
“The house and appurtenant land i.e. house bearing
No.4-3-65 corresponding to old No.2-5-256 belongs to
the petitioner. The petitioner purchased the said
house under registered sale deed dated 5.2.1969. The
respondent forcibly occupied the house and since then
he is in the occupation of the said house and open land .
The registered sale deed was attested by the following
two witnesses:
1. Syed Afzal, s/o Syed Shabbir Hussain, r/o
Adilabad
2. Late Shaikh Ahmed s/o Shaikh Abdulla r/o
Adilabad.
Late Ameerulla Khan was the scribe to the document. ”
It is also to be noted that the registered Sale Deed referred to
above was in respect of not only the building but also the
courtyard and backyard. From the above-mentioned entries in the
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application filed by the appellant, it is clear that the subject
matter of the dispute was not only the building having plinth area
of 1114 sq.ft. but also the open land comprising an area of 9341
sq.ft. In the summary of claim, the appellant’s application had
raised the claim specifically in respect of “house and appurtenant
land”. It was specifically alleged that the respondent forcibly
occupied the house and since then he is in the occupation of the
said house and open land. In such circumstances, it cannot be
said that the subject matter of the dispute was only the building.
The subject matter of the dispute was the building and the
appurtenant open land.
13. The High Court also erred in holding that only occupation of
the open land and construction of a building thereon can be
treated as land grabbing and that occupation of a building along
with open land cannot be treated as land grabbing under the Act.
When the land along with the building existing thereon is
occupied, it will amount to land grabbing.
14. In the light of the above discussion, we hold that the
application filed by the appellant under Section 7-A of the Act
before the Special Tribunal was maintainable and that the Special
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Tribunal had necessary jurisdiction to adjudicate the dispute
raised therein.
15. In view of our finding that the application filed by the
appellant before the Special Tribunal was maintainable and that
the Special Tribunal had jurisdiction to adjudicate the dispute
raised therein, the impugned order of the High Court is liable to be
set aside and the order of the Special Tribunal and judgment of
the Special Court are liable to be restored. Therefore, we consider
it unnecessary to examine the correctness of the finding of the
High Court that the decision of the High Court in the earlier W.P.
No. 35561 of 1998 did not operate as res judicata for considering
the maintainability of the application and the jurisdiction of the
Special Tribunal in the later W.P. No. 304 of 2001.
16. However, even assuming that the decision in W.P. No. 35561
of 1998 did not operate as res judicata , we are constrained to
observe that even if the learned Judges who decided W.P. No. 304
of 2001 did not agree with the view taken by a Co-ordinate Bench
of equal strength in the earlier W.P. No. 35561 of 1998 regarding
the interpretation of Section 2(c) of the Act and its application to
the petition schedule property, judicial discipline and practice
required them to refer the issue to a larger Bench. The learned
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Judges were not right in over-ruling the statement of the law by a
Co-ordinate Bench of equal strength. It is an accepted rule or
principle that the statement of the law by a Bench is considered
binding on a Bench of the same or lesser number of Judges. In
case of doubt or disagreement about the decision of the earlier
Bench, the well accepted and desirable practice is that the later
Bench would refer the case to a larger Bench.
17. In Union of India and Anr. v. Raghubir Singh (Dead)
by LRs. Etc. [(1989) 2 SCC 754] , (paras 27 and 28), a
Constitution Bench of this Court held:
“27. What then should be the position in regard to the
effect of the law pronounced by a Division Bench in
relation to a case realising the same point
subsequently before a Division Bench of a smaller
number of Judges? There is no constitutional or
statutory prescription in the matter, and the point is
governed entirely by the practice in India of the courts
sanctified by repeated affirmation over a century of
time. It cannot be doubted that in order to promote
consistency and certainty in the law laid down by a
superior Court, the ideal condition would be that the
entire Court should sit in all cases to decide questions
of law, and for that reason the Supreme Court of the
United States does so. But having regard to the
volume of work demanding the attention of the Court,
it has been found necessary in India as a general rule
of practice and convenience that the Court should sit
in Divisions, each Division being constituted of Judges
whose number may be determined by the exigencies of
judicial need, by the nature of the case including any
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statutory mandate relative thereto, and by such other
considerations which the Chief Justice, in whom such
authority devolves by convention, may find most
appropriate. It is in order to guard against the
possibility of inconsistent decisions on points of law by
different Division Benches that the rule has been
evolved, in order to promote consistency and certainty
in the development of the law and its contemporary
status, that the statement of the law by a Division
Bench is considered binding on a Division Bench of
the same or lesser number of Judges. This principle
has been followed in India by several generations of
Judges. We may refer to a few of the recent cases on
the point. In John Martin v. State of West Bengal ,
(1975) 3 SCC 836, a Division Bench of three Judges
found it right to follow the law declared in Haradhan
Saha v. State of West Bengal, (1975) 3 SCC 198,
decided by a Division Bench of five Judges, in
preference to Bhut Nath Mate v. State of West Bengal ,
(1974) 1 SCC 645 decided by a Division Bench of two
Judges. Again in Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain ,
1975 Supp. SCC 1, Beg J held that the Constitution
Bench of five Judges was bound by the Constitution
Bench of thirteen Judges in Kesavananda Bharati v.
State of Kerala , (1973) 4 SCC 225. In Ganapati
Sitaram Balvalkar v. Waman Shripad Mage , (1981) 4
SCC 143, this Court expressly stated that the view
taken on a point of law by a Division Bench of four
Judges of this Court was binding on a Division Bench
of three Judges of the Court. And in Mattulal v. Radhe
Lal , (1974) 2 SCC 365, this Court specifically observed
that where the view expressed by two different Division
Benches of this Court could not be reconciled, the
pronouncement of a Division Bench of a larger number
of Judges had to be preferred over the decision of a
Division Bench of a smaller number of Judges. This
Court also laid down in Acharya Maharajshri
Narandraprasadji Anandprasadji Maharaj v. State of
Gujarat , (1975) 1 SCC 11 that even where the strength
of two differing Division Benches consisted of the same
number of Judges, it was not open to one Division
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Bench to decide the correctness or otherwise of the
views of the other. The principle was reaffirmed in
Union of India v. Godfrey Philips India Ltd. , (1985) 4
SCC 369 which noted that a Division Bench of two
Judges of this Court in Jit Ram Shiv Kumar v. State of
Haryana , (1981) 1 SCC 11 had differed from the view
taken by an earlier Division Bench of two Judges in
Motilal Padampat Sugar Mills v. State of U.P. , (1979) 2
SCC 409 on the point whether the doctrine of
promissory estoppel could be defeated by invoking the
defence of executive necessity, and holding that to do
so was wholly unacceptable reference was made to the
well accepted and desirable practice of the later bench
referring the case to a larger Bench when the learned
Judges found that the situation called for such
reference.
28. We are of opinion that a pronouncement of law
by a Division Bench of this Court is binding on a
Division Bench of the same or a smaller number of
Judges, and in order that such decision be binding, it
is not necessary that it should be a decision rendered
by the Full Court or a Constitution Bench of the
Court. …..”
In Central Board of Dawoodi Bohra Community and Anr. v.
State of Maharashtra and Anr. [(2005) 2 SCC 673] , (para 12), a
Constitution Bench of this Court summed up the legal position in
the following terms :
“(1) The law laid down by this Court in a
decision delivered by a Bench of larger strength is
binding on any subsequent Bench of lesser or co-equal
strength.
(2) A Bench of lesser quorum cannot disagree
or dissent from the view of the law taken by a Bench of
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larger quorum. In case of doubt all that the Bench of
lesser quorum can do is to invite the attention of the
Chief Justice and request for the matter being placed
for hearing before a Bench of larger quorum than the
Bench whose decision has come up for consideration.
It will be open only for a Bench of co-equal strength to
express an opinion doubting the correctness of the
view taken by the earlier Bench of co-equal strength,
whereupon the matter may be placed for hearing
before a Bench consisting of a quorum larger than the
one which pronounced the decision laying down the
law the correctness of which is doubted.
(3) The above rules are subject to two
exceptions :
(i) The abovesaid rules do not bind the
discretion of the Chief Justice in whom vests the
power of framing the roster and who can direct
any particular matter to be placed for hearing
before any particular Bench of any strength; and
(ii) In spite of the rules laid down hereinabove,
if the matter has already come up for hearing
before a Bench of larger quorum and that Bench
itself feels that the view of the law taken by a
Bench of lesser quorum, which view is in doubt,
needs correction or reconsideration then by way
of exception (and not as a rule) and for reasons
given by it, it may proceed to hear the case and
examine the correctness of the previous decision
in question dispensing with the need of a specific
reference or the order of Chief Justice
constituting the Bench and such listing.”
The above principles and norms stated with reference to the
Supreme Court are equally relevant and applicable to the High
Court also.
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18. For the reasons stated above, we allow the appeal and set
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aside the impugned judgment dated 18 April, 2007 in W.P. No.
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304 of 2001. The order dated 13 June, 1997 of the Special
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Tribunal in L.G.O.P. No. 5 of 1990 and the judgment dated 16
November, 2000 of the Special Court in L.G.A. No. 30 of 1997 are
upheld. The respondent is directed to deliver the petition schedule
property to the appellant within a period of two months from
today, failing which, the Revenue Divisional Officer concerned
shall deliver the petition schedule property to the appellant within
a period of two months after the expiry of the period of two months
mentioned above.
…………………………..J.
(V.S. Sirpurkar)
…………………………..J.
(Cyriac Joseph)
New Delhi;
December 16, 2010.