Law: Specific Relief Act (I of 1877)

Section: 8

Specific Relief Act (I of 1877) S. 8---Recovery of possession of immovable property---Plaintiffs filed the suit on the basis of declaratory decree passed by Civil Court---Trial Court dismissed the suit ex parte and decided the matter in favour of the party found unsuccessful in the earlier suit---Lower Appellate Court set aside the ex parte judgment on the ground that the Trial Court could not sit over the judgment and decree earlier passed and having already attained finality-- Validity---Earlier decree could only be set aside by a Court of competent jurisdiction---Where the plaintiff was declared as owner of the disputed property and such decree was still in the field, Trial Court was not justified to pass the ex parte judgment dismissing the suit of the plaintiff---Judgment of Lower Appellate Court did not suffer from any illegality or misreading of evidence in circumstances. [p. 492] A Date of hearing: 19th June, 2000.                                                                                                                                                            JUDGMENT The instant civil revision is directed against the judgment and, decree, dated 2-4-1998 passed by learned Additional District Judge, Jhelum, whereby he reversed the ex parte judgment and decree, dated 7-3-1995 passed by the learned trial Court dismissing the suit of the plaintiff/ respondent against the defendants/petitioners. 2. Briefly stated the facts are that the plaintiff/respondent filed a suit for possession claiming himself to be owner of the suit property on the basis of a declaratory decree, dated 17-11-1990. He further asserted that the decree, dated 17-11-1990 was challenged by Muhammad Rafique (predecessor-in-interest of the present defendants/petitioners) through an application under…