In Brief
The Zila Panchayat Etah appealed against a High Court judgment that decreed the plaintiff Om Prakash Shah's suit for permanent injunction over disputed land in Marhara, claiming he owned a collapsed building on it. The Panchayat relied on official revenue records, municipal registers, and Khatauni documents showing the property belonged to it. The Supreme Court reversed the lower courts, holding they wrongly discarded documentary evidence favoring the Panchayat and relied solely on oral testimony. The Court held that once the District Board constructed a permanent school building with permission, the license became irrevocable under the Easements Act. The plaintiff provided no documentary evidence of ownership; the absence from official records negated his claim to Government property. The appeal was allowed with costs.
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