09/08/2026
C.R No. 392-A of 2026
Muhammad Ashrafand others Vs Additional Assistant Commissioner (Revenue), Haripur and others.
Section 9 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 confers jurisdiction upon Civil Courts to entertain and adjudicate all suits of a civil nature, except those of which cognizance is expressly or impliedly barred by law. Thus, although the jurisdiction of Civil Courts in civil matters is plenary, it remains subject to statutory exclusions enacted by the Legislature. Where a special statute establishes a complete mechanism for the adjudication of particular disputes and expressly or impliedly excludes the jurisdiction of ordinary Civil Courts, the jurisdiction conferred under Section 9, C.P.C. stands excluded to that extent.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Land Revenue Act, 1967 is one such special enactment. Section 172(1) thereof expressly provides that, except as otherwise provided in the Act, no Civil Court shall exercise jurisdiction in respect of any matter which the Government, the Board of Revenue, or any Revenue Officer is empowered by the Act to determine or take cognizance of. The legislative intent underlying this provision is to vest exclusive jurisdiction in the Revenue Authorities over matters specifically entrusted to them and to avoid parallel adjudication by Civil Courts.
The exclusion of Civil Court jurisdiction is made even more explicit by Section 172(2)(v) and (vi) of the Act, which specifically bar Civil Courts from entertaining suits relating to the framing of the record-of-rights, the preparation or attestation of documents included therein, and, more importantly, the correction of any entry in the record-of-rights, periodical record, or register of mutations. Under Section 39 of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Land Revenue Act, 1967, the expression \"record-of-rights\" includes the Khasra Girdawari, Jamabandi, and other periodical revenue records maintained under the Act.
A Khasra Girdawari is a periodical revenue record prepared by the Patwari recording possession, cultivation, crops, and other fiscal particulars relating to agricultural land. Such entries are maintained primarily for revenue administration and carry a statutory presumption of correctness unless and until they are altered or rebutted in the manner prescribed by law. Consequently, where the dispute pertains solely to the correction of entries in the Khasra Girdawari or any other record-of-rights, periodical record, or register of mutations, the Legislature has expressly vested exclusive jurisdiction in the Revenue Authorities, thereby excluding the jurisdiction of Civil Courts.
2026 PHC 4826
