Rahul Bharti, J
1. This is a petition for seeking exercise of supervisory jurisdiction of this Court under Article 227 of the Constitution of India and the subject matter of
the jurisdiction is examination of legality of an order dated 22.5.2016 passed by the Court of Principal District Judge, Samba in terms whereof the
Court of Principal District Judge, Samba has allowed the impleadment of Health Department through its Commissioner/Secretary, Civil Secretariat,
J&K and the Chief Medical Officer, Samba as party defendants in a civil suit filed by Kartar Chand-the predecessor in interest of the respondent nos.
1 to 7 herein against Om Prakash- the predecessor in interest of the petitioners herein. Both the deceased-Kartar Chand and Om Parkash were real
brothers. The suit instituted by said Kartar Chand as plaintiff against Om Parkash as defendant no. 1 and the State of Jammu and Kashmir through
Commissioner/Secretary, Govt. Education Department, Jammu as other defendants is on file no. 195/Civil of the Court of Principal District Judge,
Samba. The institution of the said suit is of 13.09.2012.
2. Through the medium of the said suit, Kartar Chand-the original plaintiff (now deceased), now being represented by the respondent nos. 1 to 6,
sought a declaration to the effect that the decree and judgment dated 21.09.2011 passed by the Court of Principal District Judge, Samba in a civil suit
filed by the deceased-defendant no. 1 namely Om Parkash against the defendant no. 2 i.e. State of Jammu and Kashmir through
Commissioner/Secretary, Education Department Jammu with respect to land measuring one kanal six marlas and six sarsai bearing khasra no. 526
situated in village Tarore, tehsil and district Samba as null and void and not binding upon said Kartar Chand, as said Kartar Chand-the plaintiff and Om
Parkash, the defendant no. 1, being the joint owners of the land in khewat no. 29, khata no. 199 and khasra no. 526 were entitled to the possession of
the said suit land from the Education Department of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir and consequentially asking for a direction to the State of
Jammu and Kashmir to handover the possession of the vacant land to the original plaintiff-Kartar Chand and the original defendant no. 1- Om
Parkash.
3. Before proceeding further the fact needs to be put on record that the original defendant no. 1â€"Om Parkash in his own name had filed a civil suit
on file no. 5/COS on 24.04.1992 before the Court of Principal District Judge, Samba for seeking decree for possession qua said one kanal seven
marlas, four sarsai in khasra no. 526 situated at village Tarore, Samba which came to be decreed vide judgment dated 21.09.2011.
4. During the pendency of the civil suit filed by the original plaintiff-Kartar Chand against the original defendant no. 1 â€" Om Parkash and the State
of Jammu and Kashmir through Education Department, the original defendant no. 1-Om Parkash came to demise whereupon his legal representatives,
who are the petitioners herein, came to be impleaded as party defendants in the suit and it is they who came to submit their written statement
representing their predecessor in interest-Om Parkash as defendant no. 1 in the suit. This written statement was filed by them in July 2014.
5. On 20.05.2013 an application purportedly came to be filed on behalf of the Chief Medical Officer, Health and Family Welfare, Samba seeking
impleadment of the Health Department through Commissioner/Secretary, Civil Secretariat Jammu/Kashmir and also the Chief Medical Officer,
Samba as party defendants in the suit. The plea for impleadment as party defendants in the suit was premised on the fact that suit land was in
occupation of the Health Department which had replaced the Education Department and with respect to the suit land’s utilization, Government
sanctioned Allopathic Dispensary for which purpose even an amount of Rs. 65 lacs had been spent on the construction of building thereat. Thus, on
this purported basis the impleadment of the Health Department and the Chief Medical Officer, Samba as defendants in addition to the original named
two defendants in the suit was asked for. The said impleadment application was signed by the then Chief Medical Officer, Samba who was Dr.
Kartar Chand son of Sh. Dass Ram.
6. The original plaintiff-Kartar Chand came to submit reply to this application for impleadment on 07.08.2013 and registered his no objection in
allowing the impleadment application. As against the no objection of the plaintiff-Kartar Chand for the impleadment of the Health Department of the
Government of Jammu and Kashmir and Chief Medical Officer, Samba as party defendants in the suit, the legal representatives of the original
defendant no. 1- Om Parkash came to register their objections on the premise that the applicants in particular the Chief Medical Officer, Samba have
no concern with the suit land and the application for impleadment was with an ulterior motive to forcibly grab the suit land for the possession of which
decree was in favour of the original defendant no. 1 â€" Om Parkash against the Education Department of the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
7. This application for impleadment came to be allowed by the Principal District Judge, Samba vide its order dated 20.05.2016 which is now being
assailed by the legal representatives of the original defendant no. 1 â€" Om Parkash. In allowing the impleadment of the Health Department and the
Chief Medical Officer, Samba as party defendants in the suit, the Court of Principal District Judge, Samba took cognizance of the fact in the form of
survey report of Revenue Department with respect to suit land, khasra-girdawari of the year 1990 issued on 06.02.2015, the report of Tehsildar Bari
Brahmana dated 07.09.2015 and the documents depicting the release of funds by the Government Health Department for the construction of
Allopathic Dispensary in Village Tarore.
8. A prominent fact which is beyond any shadow of dispute is that a building premises is related to the Education Department qua the suit land and it is
with respect to the same very building that the requisite proposal for converting into Allopathic Dispensary has been put into project at an estimated
cost of Rs. 85 lacs prepared by Chief Engineer, PWD and (R&B) Department, Jammu. The Court of Principal District Judge, Samba, while allowing
the application for impleadment of the Health Department of the State of Jammu and Kashmir and Chief Medical Officer, Samba as party defendants
in the suit, kept in consideration the principle that addition/deletion of parties is an object of avoiding an embarrassment and multiplicity of litigation and
that a plaintiff in any given suit is the dominus litis.
9. In view of the fact that the original plaintiff-Kartar Chand was having no objection to the impleadment of the Health Department as well as Chief
Medical Officer, Samba as party defendants to his suit, as such, the learned Principal District Judge, Samba saw no reason in disallowing the
impleadment application so filed on behalf of Department concerned.
10. Although a perusal of the order dated 20.05.2016 passed by the learned Principal District Judge, Samba does not bear out as to whether the
Department of Health to the Government of Jammu and Kashmir and Chief Medical Officer, Samba were reckoned as necessary or proper parties to
be impleaded as party defendants in the suit but nevertheless this Court reckons it that the impleadment of the two entities was not by virtue of being
the necessary parties but because of being proper parties in presence of whom the lis qua the suit land in reference was to have a complete and
effectual adjudication.
11. In view of this, this Court does not find any improper/irregular exercise of jurisdiction on the part of the Principal District Judge, Samba in allowing
the impleadment application and directing the impleadment of the parties as defendants in the suit. The original plaintiff-Kartar Chand even came to
accept the order dated 20.05.2016 of the Principal District Judge, Samba and submitted an amended plaint. Therefore to lend any indulgence to the
objection of the petitioners against the impleadment of the new defendants in the suit would be to afford to the petitioners a dominant status in a civil
suit in which their predecessor-in-interest-Om Parkash was the defendant and now they are the defendants in the same very suit.
12. The petitioners, in the present petition, fail to make out a case for inviting the exercise of supervisory jurisdiction of this Court with respect to the
exercise of jurisdiction by the Court of learned Principal District Judge, Samba in passing the order in reference. This petition is, accordingly,
dismissed. A copy of this judgment be sent to the Court of learned Principal District Judge, Samba for being placed on the file of the civil suit no.
195/Civil.
