JUDGMENT :

SANJAY KAROL, J.

1. This Civil Appeal has been preferred by the original plaintiffs laying challenge to judgment and order dated 18th September 2009 passed by the High Court of Chhattisgarh, Bilaspur in Second Appeal No. 617 of 1996. At hand is a long-standing property dispute that began somewhere in the 1960s. The parties in the dispute are in one way or another related to one Gokul Rai. A family chart shall be useful in contextualising the parties and the facts:

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2. The properties in question belonged to the grandson of said Gokul Rai i.e. Mahabir Rai. On 27th July 1960, Mahabir Rai, transferred a portion of his property totalling to 95.80 acres in favour of his mother, Raj Mohani @Roopjhari and his son, the present appellant, Makardhwaj. On 23rd April 1962, Mahabir Rai, his wife Gulmati, and mother Raj Mohani @ Rupjhari, executed a General Power of Attorney¹ [GPA] in favour of Rambhajan, who is Mahabir Rai’s cousin that is the son of Baldeo’s sister-Dhanmati. In 1969 on two separate occasions i.e. 27th January 1969 and 4th February 1969, Rambhajan, using the said GPA sold 21.43 acres land to one Prem Prakash, and 33.76 acres to one Chandra Sao. The said GPA was can