The Himachal Pradesh High Court ruled that if a Local Commissioner’s demarcation report is irregular, only a fresh demarcation is needed, not remand of the entire suit. If the land boundary report made by a government officer (Local Commissioner) has some mistakes or was not done properly, the court should order a fresh report. The whole case does not need to be sent back to the beginning or reopened completely. Only the boundary report should be corrected, not the entire land dispute case. Justice Vivek Singh Thakur held that procedural errors by the Commissioner should not affect the whole trial. The plaintiff filed a civil suit in Bilaspur seeking to stop the defendants from interfering with his land. Alternatively, for possession. The Trial Court restrained the defendants but rejected the possession claim and discarded the demarcation report. This was for not following the Financial Commissioner’s instructions.
The plaintiff appealed and requested a fresh demarcation under Order 26 Rule 9 CPC. The District Judge allowed the plea and remanded the entire case for reconsideration. The defendants challenged this, stating only a fresh report was necessary. The HC set aside the full remand, appointed the Tehsildar for fresh demarcation, and directed the Trial Court to decide the suit based on the new report and existing evidence.
