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Lucknow Development Authority v. Mazhar Khan @ Pappu & Ors.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 25 of 2017)Decided 2 Jan 2017
Civil Appeal No. 25 of 2017
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

Background

The Lucknow Development Authority challenged an interim order the Allahabad High Court had passed in a writ petition arising from a pending civil suit (Regular Suit No. 1563 of 2014) over possession of a disputed property. The High Court's interim order had directed that the respondents' alleged possession not be disturbed, while the Authority claimed it, not the respondents, actually held possession.

Decision Breakdown

Rather than deciding who actually held possession, a disputed factual question, the Supreme Court decided the appeal by directing the trial court to decide the pending civil suit itself expeditiously, within six months. It ordered that status quo on possession be maintained by both sides only until the suit is decided, directed both parties to cooperate in getting the suit disposed of quickly, and clarified that the trial court should decide the suit uninfluenced by any observations in the High Court's order. With these directions, the appeal itself was finally disposed of.

Lesson Learnt

When a possession dispute is tied up in a slow-moving civil suit, appellate courts will often resolve the appeal by ordering a time-bound trial and a neutral status-quo arrangement in the meantime, rather than ruling on contested possession facts themselves.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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