SC: The Court may give direction for further inquiry in case if it is not satisfied with the proceedings of the Commissioner

The Apex Court on 04.02.2019, in RAM LAL & ORS. Appellant (s) VS. SALIG RAM & ORS[1]., had allowed the appeal  that had been made against the High Court of Himachal Pradesh’s decree and judgment which had set aside the District Judge’s decree and judgment while dismissing the plaintiffs-appellants suit regarding  the  prohibitory injunction /the recovery of possession of the disputed land.

FACTS:
The appellants had been alleged to have encroached over the disputed land by the defendants. The  suit was dismissed by the Trial Court although additional issues  were remitted to the Trial Court upon the issue regarding  whether the  defendants had committed  encroachment  over the land and to what extent .As such, a direction for appointing a Local Commissioner  was given to  the  Trial Court for deciding  the issue  upon the  objections raised  in the Commissioner’s  report  that were eventually rejected and hence, resulting in  the Trial Court returning its findings upon the additional issues favoring  of the plaintiffs thereby, allowing the appeal by  the Appellate Court and decreeing the suit.

The High Court on the other hand, in the second appeal had found that the demarcation had not been carried out as per the applicable instruction by the Local Commissioner, thus upholding that the report was unreliable while citing that there had been no evidence which would prove that the defendants had caused encroachment over the disputed land, thereby allowing the appeal.

ISSUE:  Was the High Court justified in setting aside the First Appellate Court’s decree?

DECISION HELD BY THE APEX COURT:
The Apex Court while allowing the appeal held that it disapproved the High Court’s approach  wherein after rejecting the report of the Commission, it directly  had dismissed the suit without giving regard to the other evidences. Thus ,  a direction was given to   issue a  fresh Commission and  directing the  Trial Court  for deciding  the suit afresh upon these  issues  which were initially framed as well as the  additional ones  after taking the Local Commissioner’s report  afresh and providing  an opportunity to both  parties  for the submission of objections.