2019 Supreme(SC) 813
Narendra Kumar Mittal – Appellant
Versus
Nupur Housing Development Pvt. Ltd. – Respondent
Advocates Appeared:
For the Appellant(s) :Garvesh Kabra, Advocate
For the Respondent(s):Syed Abdul Haseeb, Advocate
Judgement Key Points
- The suit filed by the plaintiff seeks cancellation of sale deeds dated 15.06.2006 executed by the first defendant in favor of defendants 2 to 5, on grounds of fraud and misrepresentation, along with an injunction restraining interference with the plaintiff's possession. [1000637580001][1000637580002]
- The plaintiff, a private limited company, purchased the disputed agricultural property under five sale deeds dated 17.10.1998 from the first defendant and applied to the Tehsildar for mutation of records. [1000637580002]
- The defendants challenged the suit's maintainability in the civil court under Section 331 of the U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950, claiming bar on suits involving agricultural land; the civil court rejected the challenge, and the High Court dismissed the revision. [1000637580003]
- Section 331 bars civil court jurisdiction only for suits seeking declaration of rights or title as a tenure-holder in agricultural land; it does not apply to suits solely for cancellation of a sale deed. [1000637580004][1000637580006][1000637580009]
- Exclusion of civil court jurisdiction must be strictly construed and is not readily inferred unless explicitly expressed or clearly implied. (!) [1000637580006]
- Distinction exists between suits to set aside a deed requiring adjudication and transactions void ab initio, which do not require cancellation; the former falls within civil court jurisdiction. (!)
- Revenue courts lack jurisdiction to grant relief of cancellation of a sale deed on grounds of fraud and misrepresentation. [1000637580006]
- Where the plaintiff's title under prior sale deeds is not disputed and no declaration of title is sought, a suit for cancellation of a subsequent fraudulent sale deed is maintainable in civil court, unaffected by Section 331. [1000637580006][1000637580009]
- The suit is maintainable in the civil court. [1000637580009]
- Appeals challenging maintainability dismissed. [1000637580011][1000637580013]
JUDGMENT :
S. ABDUL NAZEER, J.
CIVIL APPEAL NO. 5979 OF 2019 (Arising out of S.L.P. (C) No.8352 of 2015
1. Leave granted.
2. The question for consideration in this appeal is whether the suit filed by the first respondent-plaintiff for cancellation of the sale deed dated 15.06.2006 against the appellant-second defendant and second respondent-first defendant, and for injunction restraining them from interfering with its possession of the property was maintainable?
3. The plaintiff is a private limited company, registered under the Companies Act, 1956. It had purchased from the first defendant certain properties (for short 'the disputed property') in Village Yakootpur, Pargana and Tehsil Dadri, District Gautam Budh Nagar under five sale deeds, all dated 17.10.1998. The plaintiff submitted an application in the office of the Tehsildar for having its name entered in the record in respect of the disputed property. During the pendency of these proceedings, it came to the knowledge of the officials of the plaintiff that the first defendant had illegally sold the disputed property through four registered sale deeds all dated 15.06.2006 in favour of defendant Nos. 2 to 5. Therefore, the plaintiff
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