Briefly stated facts of this civil revision are that petitioners/ plaintif fs filed suit for declaration wherein written statement was filed on 19.10.2014 and thereafter plaintif fs/petitioners completed their evidence on 17.11.2017 and defendants/respondents completed their evidence on 19.01.2018 while the issues were framed by the learned trial Court on 16.02.2018 and the suit was dismissed on the same date. Feeling aggrieved, the petitioners/plaintif fs filed an appeal and the same was also dismissed vide judgment and decree dated 22.01.2019. Being dissatisfied, the petitioners/ plaintif fs have filed the instant Revision Petition and challenged the validity of the judgments and decrees passed by the learned Courts below .
2. I have heard the learned counsel for the parties and perused the available record as well as have minutely gone through the impugned judgments and decrees.
3. On query , learned counsels for the contesting parties agreed that issues were framed by the learned trial Court 16.02.2018 after recording of oral evidence of the' contesting parties and after exhibiting the documents produced by both sides and after completion of evidence of the parties. It is settled law that it is duty of a judge himself to frame proper issues on the first stage of a suit so that parties may know the controversy , the disputed facts on which evidence is to be led and to enable an effective judgment to be rendered because the object of framing of issues is to ascertain real dispute between the parties by narrowing down an area of conflicting and determining where the parties differ because parties are required to prove issues and not the pleadings generally , while the Court is bound to give decision on each issue framed and not to decide the matter on which no issue has been framed. Hence, the learned trial Court's failure to frame the issues before the recording of evidence and exhibiting of documents, the petitioners/plaintif fs are seriously prejudiced and it is materia l irregularity which has affected merits of the case. Learned appellate Court also failed to appreciate this material irregularity and maintained the judgment and decree of the trial Court by dismissing the appeal. Hence, the impugned judgments and decrees passed by the learned Courts below are not sustainable in the eye of law .
4. In view of the above discussion, without discussing the merits of the case, this civil revision is accepted and the impugned judgments and decrees of the learned Courts below are set-aside and the lis is remanded back to the learned trial Court for decision afresh after framing of issues and by allowing the parties to produce their respective oral evidence and documentary evidence. The evidence already recorded by the contesting parties is also discarded. The parties are directed to appear before the learned Additional District Judge, Tehsil Lalian, District Chiniot on 30.01.2020, who will entrust the matter to a Court of competent jurisdiction for adjudication.