The Allahabad High Court has reiterated that police authorities and executive officers have no jurisdiction to adjudicate or interfere in civil disputes between private parties, while clarifying that any deviation may invite departmental as well as contempt proceedings, LiveLaw reported.
The Court was hearing a petition arising out of a private property dispute in which one party alleged that authorities were interfering in a matter that was civil in nature, according to the court order cited by LiveLaw.
The Court used the case to re-emphasise the legal position regarding the role of police and executive authorities in disputes over private property.
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The Allahabad High Court clarified that questions relating to ownership, title, and possession of private property can only be decided by competent civil courts, India Today reported.
The publication reported that while disposing a writ petition, the court directed police and executive officers in Uttar Pradesh to strictly follow existing government orders and a police circular on such matters.
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. According to India Today, 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.
This judgement reaffirms the long established legal principle that disputes relating to property ownership, title and possession fall exclusively within the jurisdiction of civil courts.
The ruling is expected to provide relief to litigants who allege police pressure or interference in ongoing civil property disputes and reinforces the separation between civil adjudication by courts and law and order functions performed by the police.
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