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1996 Supreme(SC) 2161

1997(5) supreme 519
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
Singh and S.B. Majmudar, JJ.
Sunder Das & Ors. -Appellants N.P.
versus
Gajananrao & Ors. -Respondents
Civil Appeal No. 3550 of 1984
Decided on 13-12-1996
Counsel for the Parties :
For the Appellants : Sudhir Chandra, Sr. Advocate, and Jayant Bhusan, Advocate.
For the Respondents : S.S. Khanduja, Advocate.

Headnote:Hindu Law-Mulla s Hindu Law -Para 256-Ancestral property-Alienation by father-Suit for declaration that sale deed by their father is void and inoperative-Plaintiff s father was karta of joint Hindu family-Clear recitals in Sale Deed that he entered into transaction for family necessity-Being plaintiffs father and karta of joint Hindu family, vendor was legally entitled to alienate suit house even for his own requirements-No evidence of illegal purpose-It being a transaction for benefit of family-Challenged by sons after eleven and a half years-Collusive suit-Liable to be dismissed-Judgment and decree passed by Trial Court and confirmed by High Court are quashed-Appellant-defendants directed to ex gratia pay a sum of Rs. 2,00,000/- plaintiffs as per undertaking filed in Court.

       Held; defendant No. 6, father of the plaintiffs apart from being the karta of the joint Hindu family was well versed in the ways of the world and was not a novice or a layman. With his open eyes he disposed of the suit house which appeared to be almost a ruin for Rs. 1800/-. It is easy to visualize that when defendant No. 6, the vendor, was staying with his family at Chhatarpur and when the ancestral house at Datia Village was in a ruinous condition and which would almost be a burden to them he thought it fit in his wisdom to dispose it of for Rs. 1800/- in favour of the defendants and made an express recital in the Sale Deed that it was for family necessity that he was disposing it of. As a Hindu father and karta of the family he had every right to do so and in the process could have legally disposed of the interest of his minor sons in the said property also for the benefit of the family and necessity of the family. The plaintiffs have not been able to lead any cogent evidence to rebut the clear recitals found in the Sale Deed to that effect. (Para 10)

       Further held : The very fact that defendant No. 6 who was presumed to be well acclimatised with the court proceedings as he was an Upper Division Clerk in the Civil Court at Chhatarpur at the relevant time stood by the transaction and the recitals in the Sale Deed for eleven and a half years and the further fact that he saw to it that his sons challenged the transaction after such a long period of time when defendants in the meantime went on spending huge amounts on the property and ultimately came forward in the suit to support the plaintiffs, leave no room for doubt that the suit was got filed by defendant No. 6 only with a view to knock out more money from the contesting defendants and was clearly a collusive suit. (Para 10)

       

JUDGMENT

S.B. Majmudar, J.-This appeal on the grant of special leave to appeal under Article 136 of the Constitution of India is directed against the judgment and order of a Division Bench of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh in First Appeal No. 2 of 1979 whereby the Division Bench dismissed the First Appeal and confirmed with modification the decree passed by the Trial Court against the appellants in Civil Suit No. 13A of 1978 in the Court of learned District Judge, Datia. The facts leading to this appeal shortly stated are as under.

2. The appellants are the original defendants against whom respondent Nos. 1 to 3, original plaintiffs, filed the aforesaid suit for a declaration that the registered Sale Deed dated 30th May 1959 executed by their father, respondent No. 4 in this appeal who was original defendant No. 6 in the suit, in favour of the present appellants is void and inoperative at law and for restoration of the possession of the suit house bearing Municipal No. 1153/1 situated in Rajgarh locality of Datia town in the State of Madhya Pradesh. For the sake convenience we will refer to the appellants as original contesting defendants and respondents 1 to 3 as plaintiffs in the latter part of this judgment. Respondent No. 4, father of the plaintiffs, was joined as defendant No. 6 in the suit. The case of the plaintiffs is that their father original defendant No. 6 had executed registered Sale Deed dated 30th May 1959 conveying the suit house to the contesting defendants for a sum of Rs. 1800/- and delivered possession of the said house to them. According to the plaintiffs the suit house was their ancestral property in which they had got undivided 3/4th interest. That their father, defendant No. 6, had no right to transfer the suit house in favour of the contesting defendants and consequently the said Sale Deed was not binding on them.

3. The said suit was contested by the contesting defendants on the ground that the house belonged exclusively to their vendor defendant No. 6 and plaintiffs had no interest therein. It was alternatively contended that even assuming that the suit house was an ancestral house wherein the plaintiffs had undivided interest defendant No. 6, their vendor, had alienated the said house for family necessity and his transaction was binding on the plaintiffs. Defendant No. 6 father of the plaintiffs, on the other hand supported the plaintiffs.

4. Learned Trial Judge after recording the evidence came to the conclusion that the suit house was an ancestral property of the parties wherein the plaintiffs had 3/4th undivided interest while their father defendant No. 6 had 1/4th interest and consequently the Sale Deed dated 30th May 1959 was voidable to the extent of 3/4th share of the plaintiffs. Accordingly the learned Trial Judge directed the plaintiffs to be placed in joint possession of the suit house along with the contesting defendants 1 to 5. Being aggrieved by the aforesaid judgment and decree of the Trial Judge the contesting defendants carried the matter in First Appeal before the High Court. As stated earlier Division Bench of the High Court was pleased to dismiss the same. However the cross objections filed by the plaintiffs were allowed and accordingly Trial Court s decree was modified as under :

"The suit of the plaintiffs for possession is decreed; the contesting defendants to deliver possession of the suit house to the plaintiffs; but the execution of the decree in so far as it directs the contesting defendants to deliver possession of the suit house to the plaintiffs shall remain stayed for a period of six months from today and, if before the expiry of that period, the contesting defendants bring a suit for general partition, then the stay should continue till the disposal of the suit; but if no such suit is brought within the period, the stay of execution of the decree shall stand cancelled on the expiry of the period of six months and the plaintiffs shall be entitled to obtain the possessi
















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