Haji MOHAMMAD RIAZ vs KHALID MEHMOOD ABBASI Ss — 2021 CLC 408 PESHAWAR-HIGH-COURT

Fields are extracted from the reported citation and judgment text. Where a detail is not stated in the record, it is not shown.

Haji MOHAMMAD RIAZ VS KHALID MEHMOOD ABBASI Ss. 42 & 54---Suit for declaration and injunction---"Graveyard", private or public---Determining factors---Plaintiffs claimed that land in question was graveyard and revenue entries in the name of defendants were wrong---Validity---Rules to determine as to whether a graveyard was a "public" or a "private" one were (i) even though there was no direct evidence of dedication to public, it could be presumed to be a public graveyard by immemorial user i.e. where the corpses of the members of Muslim community had been buried in a particular graveyard for a large number of years without any objection from the owners. The fact that owner permitted such burials did not make any difference at all; (ii) if graveyard was a "private" or a "family graveyard" then it should contain graves of only the founder, members of his family or his descendents and no others. Once even in a family graveyard members of public were allowed to bury their dead, the private graveyard would shed its character and became public graveyard; (iii) in order to prove that graveyard was public dedication it must be shown by multiplying instances of the character, nature and extent of buries form time to time---In other words there should be evidence to show that a large number of members of Muslim community had buried their corpses from time to time in the graveyard. Once such was found, then Court was to presume that graveyard was a public one; and (iv) where burial ground was mentioned as public graveyard in either a revenue record or historic papers that would be conclusive proof of a public character of a graveyard---Sale or purchase if any made in suit land either through mutation or registered deed was illegal, without lawful authority and without jurisdiction and the same was liable to be cancelled---High Court directed revenue officials to rectify revenue record and concurrent judgments and decrees passed by two Courts below were set aside---Revision was allowed accordingly.

Haji MOHAMMAD RIAZ vs KHALID MEHMOOD ABBASI Ss — 2021 CLC 408 PESHAWAR-HIGH-COURT

Case information

Judgment text as reported

Other judgments reported in 2021 CLC