Procedure where dispute concerning land or water is likely to cause breach of peace
Full Text
(1) Whenever an Executive Magistrate is satisfied from a report of a police officer or upon other information that a dispute likely to cause a breach of the peace exists concerning any land or water or the boundaries thereof, within his local jurisdiction, he shall make an order in writing, stating the grounds of his being so satisfied, and requiring the parties concerned in such dispute to attend his Court in person or by an advocate on a specified date and time, and to put in written statements of their respective claims as respects the fact of actual possession of the subject of dispute.
(2) For the purposes of this section, the expression “land or water” includes buildings, markets, fisheries, crops or other produce of land, and the rents or profits of any such property.
(4) The Magistrate shall, without reference to the merits or the claims of any of the parties to a right to possess the subject of dispute, decide whether any and which of the parties was, at the date of the order made by him, in possession of the subject of dispute: Provided that if it appears to the Magistrate that any party has been forcibly and wrongfully dispossessed within two months next before the date on which the report of a police officer or other information was received, he may treat the party so dispossessed as if that party had been in possession on the date of his order.
(6) If the Magistrate decides that one of the parties was in possession, he shall issue an order declaring such party to be entitled to possession until evicted in due course of law and may restore possession to a party forcibly dispossessed.
Plain English Summary
Section 164 (formerly Section 145 CrPC) empowers Magistrates to determine actual possession of disputed property to prevent violence, maintaining the status quo until a Civil Court rules on ownership.
Key Legal Elements
- Successor to Section 145 CrPC
- Prevention of breach of peace over land/water disputes
- Focus on actual physical possession at the time of order
- Restoration of possession for wrongful dispossession within 2 months
- Magistrate order valid until eviction by competent civil court
Practical Note
Focus on "possession" rather than "title". This is a frequent remedy used in rural and semi-urban land grab cases to maintain peace.
हिंदी पाठ
(1) यदि कार्यकारी मजिस्ट्रेट को लगता है कि जमीन या पानी से जुड़े विवाद से शांति भंग हो सकती है, तो वह पक्षों को अदालत में पेश होने और संपत्ति पर अपने वास्तविक कब्जे के बारे में लिखित बयान देने का आदेश दे सकता है।
(2) "जमीन या पानी" में इमारतें, बाजार, फसलें और उनसे होने वाला लाभ/किराया भी शामिल है।
(4) मजिस्ट्रेट यह तय करता है कि आदेश की तारीख पर किसका कब्जा था, न कि यह कि किसका कानूनी हक है। यदि किसी को रिपोर्ट से 2 महीने पहले जबरन बेदखल किया गया था, तो उसे अभी भी कब्जे में माना जा सकता है।
(6) मजिस्ट्रेट यह घोषित करेगा कि कब्जा करने वाला पक्ष तब तक वहां रहने का हकदार है जब तक कि उसे कानूनी अदालत द्वारा बेदखल न कर दिया जाए। वह जबरन बेदखल किए गए व्यक्ति को कब्जा वापस भी दिला सकता है।