Lucknow, Aug 5 The Allahabad High Court has ruled that police and administrative authorities cannot adjudicate civil disputes relating to ownership or possession of private immovable property, observing that their role is confined to maintaining public peace and preventing law and order problems.
A Lucknow division bench comprising Justices Shekhar B Saraf and Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary passed the order while disposing of a writ petition filed by 85-year-old Indra Pati and another petitioner from Lucknow.
The court directed police and executive authorities to strictly comply with the government orders, warning that any deviation could invite departmental action as well as contempt proceedings.
The petitioners had sought directions restraining 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 observed that the case stemmed from a family property dispute and that civil litigation between the parties was already pending. It held that the petitioners had failed to show why the high court should exercise its writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution in what was essentially a private civil dispute.
Declining to conduct a detailed inquiry into allegations of collusion between police officials and private respondents, the court said such allegations could be pursued separately through appropriate legal remedies, including filing 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 necessary to maintain public peace and prevent a breach of law and order.
The court said police and revenue authorities are not judicial forums competent to determine civil rights and cannot be used as a means for one private party to dispossess another or secure possession of disputed property.
The bench also referred to Uttar Pradesh government orders issued on December 1, 2014, and September 16, 2015, which prohibit administrative authorities from deciding private property disputes, particularly when such matters are pending before courts.
It also noted a March 11, 2023 circular issued by the director general of police directing police not to decide disputes relating to 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 the government orders and the DGP's circular, warning that any deviation could invite departmental action as well as contempt proceedings.
The petition was disposed of with liberty to the petitioners to seek appropriate relief before the competent authority or civil court.
