diff --git a/ghc/lib/ghc/IOHandle.lhs b/ghc/lib/ghc/IOHandle.lhs
index c367403d1590e7b1d14589e2df41d880542062af..b320391e3df76bbec99c02eedf495ad659c6c6f9 100644
--- a/ghc/lib/ghc/IOHandle.lhs
+++ b/ghc/lib/ghc/IOHandle.lhs
@@ -510,8 +510,6 @@ hFlush handle =
 \begin{code}
 data HandlePosn = HandlePosn Handle Int
 
-instance Eq HandlePosn{-partain-}
-
 data SeekMode    =  AbsoluteSeek | RelativeSeek | SeekFromEnd
                     deriving (Eq, Ord, Ix, Enum, Read, Show)
 \end{code}