A sale deed can be set aside if it is found to be an unconscionable contract.

JUDGMENT - VAZE V.V., J.: - Dulichand Hariram Murarka purported to purchase a four storied House No. 19 in Municipal Ward No. 14 and Nazul sheet No. 26-C, Plot No. 71/1 Malipura, Akola from Rameshwarappa for a considered of Rs. 12,000/- by a registered sale-deed dated 4-3-1964. The ground floor of the building consisted of three rooms out of which two rooms in the rear continued to remain with Vinayakappa, the brother of the vendor Rameshwarappa. The vendee Dulichand claimed that Vinayakappa was inducted into the premises as a tenant, that the rent was Rs. 50/- plus Rs. 5/- by way of electric charges per month and the Vinayakappa continued to pay the rent upto 3rd January, 1967. Dulichand claims to have terminated the tenancy of Vinayakappa by notice dated 29th October, 1968 but as the latter did not comply, Dulichand filed Regular Civil Suit No. 8769 in the Court of Second Joint Civil Judge, Junior Division Akola, for eviction and possession. In the trial Court Vinayakappa resisted the suit denying the title of the plaintiff. According to him, he had borrowed Rs. 6,500/- from Dulichand and it was agreed that he would return the loan of Rs. 6,500/- and another promised one of Rs. 3,500/- to be advanced in future in a period of 5 years. Though the property was an ancestral property in which all the brothers and the mother had shares, it was ostensibly conveyed to the plaintiff after executing a Tabe Yadi in favour of Rameshwarappa, so as to make a show of clothing them with title. Defendant Vinayakappa denied the relationship of landlord and tenant with Dulichand and payment of any rent for the rooms.

2. The lower Court decreed the suit of the plaintiff and the appeal filed against the judgment and decree having been dismissed, the defendant Vinayakappa has come up to this Court.

3. It is a common ground that the defendant is residing in two rooms on the ground floor all these years even though the entire house has been sold by his brother to the plaintiff. As the house was ancestral property of the family, it would not be unrealistic to conclude that the family was residing therein all these years prior to the sale and that the defendant Vinayakappa continued to occupy two rooms on the ground floor all these years even after the sale.

4. Couple with the continued occupation of two rooms in the demised property, the lower Appellate Court has repeatedly observed in its judgment that the consideration of the so called sale was inadequate. To cite the few instances :

"In any event, I am not inclined to accept that the house was only worth Rs. 12,000/- when it was conveyed over to the plaintiff for the said amount by virtue of sale-deed Ex. P. 58. The house may reasonably be valued at double the said amount when it came to be conveyed to the plaintiff. It might also be the plaintiff held out a hope to the defendant that if the family arranged to pay back the amount within a reasonable time, the plaintiff would accept it willingly and return the property... .... .... ....

It might be that the plaintiff as I have said, already might have given a tacit understanding orally that if the circumstances for the defendant's family proved to be favourably, they could purchase back both the properties, plaintiff would not stand in the way...."

"It is, therefore, clear that though the property originally was worth Rs. 10,000/- the defendant spent huge amount and made it worth much more. All the trial, the defendant said that it was worth Rs. 50,000/-. Making allowance for the exaggeration, I have stated that the property might be worth about Rs. 24,000/- to Rs. 25,000/- when the transaction Exh. 58 took place."

"... I have already given expression to my mental reservation regarding the sale-deed taken by the plaintiff of four-storeyed house for obviously inadequate amount of Rs. 12,000/-."

5. With this clear finding about inadequacy of consideration and loan nature of the transaction it is difficult to understand how the learned District Judge

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