Police cannot decide private property disputes: Allahabad High Court
The Allahabad High Court has said police and administrative authorities cannot decide civil disputes over the ownership or possession of private immovable property, and can
The Allahabad High Court has said police and administrative authorities cannot decide civil disputes over the ownership or possession of private immovable property, and can step in only to maintain public peace and prevent law and order problems. While disposing of a writ petition, the court directed police and executive authorities in Uttar Pradesh to strictly follow existing government orders and a police circular on such matters. Read Full Story A Lucknow bench of Justices Shekhar B Saraf and Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary passed the order on a petition filed by 85-year-old Indra Pati and another petitioner from Lucknow. The petitioners had sought directions to stop the authorities from interfering with their peaceful possession of a disputed property and from allegedly harassing them without any order from a competent court.
The bench said the case arose from a family property dispute and noted that civil litigation between the parties was already pending. It held that the petitioners had not shown why the high court should exercise its writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution in what was essentially a private civil dispute. The court declined to carry out a detailed inquiry into allegations of collusion between police officials and private respondents. It said such allegations could be pursued separately through appropriate legal remedies, including a complaint or registration of an FIR, if warranted. Reiterating the settled legal position, the bench said police and executive authorities have no jurisdiction to adjudicate or interfere in civil disputes relating to title, possession or boundaries of immovable property between private parties, except to the limited extent needed to maintain public peace and prevent a breach of law and order.
It added that police and revenue authorities are not judicial forums competent to determine civil rights and cannot be used by one private party to dispossess another or to secure possession of disputed property. The bench also referred to Uttar Pradesh government orders dated December 1, 2014 and September 16, 2015, which bar administrative authorities from deciding private property disputes, especially when such matters are pending before courts. It further noted a March 11, 2023 circular issued by the director general of police, directing police not to decide disputes over ownership or possession and to refer such complaints to the appropriate executive magistrate or revenue authorities. The court directed police officers, district magistrates, sub-divisional magistrates and other executive authorities across the state to strictly comply with these directions, warning that any deviation could invite departmental action as well as contempt proceedings.
The BriefWire