SupremeToday Landscape Ad
Back
Next
Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation
Listen Audio Icon Pause Audio Icon
judgment-img

1957 Supreme(Pat) 29

PATNA HIGH COURT
Ahmad, J.
Ram Kirpal Choudhary
Versus
Mt.Munabati Kumri
Appeal From Appellate Decree No. 1756 of 1951 ;
Decided On : JANUARY 24, 1957

Headnote:

TRANSFER OF PROPERTY ACT - SECTION 43 - SUIT FOR DECLARATION THAT SALE DEEDS WERE NOT BINDING ON PLAINTIFFS AND THAT DECREE PASSED IN MORTGAGE SUIT WAS NULL AND VOID - FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE - HELD, THAT THE SALE DEEDS WERE NOT BINDING ON THE PLAINTIFFS AND THE DECREE PASSED IN THE MORTGAGE SUIT WAS NULL AND VOID.

Fact of the Case:

The suit was for the declaration that the kebalas dated 17-5-1941 and 11-6-1941, both executed by Basudeo Choudhary, defendant 3rd party (defendant No. 15) who is the eldest brother of plaintiffs 2 and 3 and the son of plaintiff No. 1, were not binding on the plaintiffs and that the decree dated 14-4-1945, passed in Mortgage Suit No. 60 of 1942 was null and void.

Finding of the Court:

The lower appellate Court found that (1) it was not plaintiff No. 1 who had purchased the southern half of plot No. 193 out of her own fund but that as a matter of fact that purchase was made by the joint family out of the joint family funds; (2) that plaintiff No. 1 was not the guardian of plaintiff No. 2 at the time when the sale deed dated 17th May, 1941 was executed but it was defendant No. 15; and (3) that the notice issued in the suit for redemption was duly served on the pleader guardian.

Issues: 1. Whether the sale deeds dated 17-5-1941 and 11-6-1941 were binding on the plaintiffs? 2. Whether the decree passed in Mortgage Suit No. 60 of 1942 was null and void?

Ratio Decidendi: 1. The sale deed dated 17th May, 1941 could not confer any title on the vendee in that property at least up to that date. Therefore, the liability, if any, on the vendee to pay the consideration money, as stipulated in the document dated 17th May, 1941, could not and did not arise until he decided to take the advantage of the transaction made on 27th May, 1942. 2. By that time, as already stated above, the debt under the mortgage document dated 3rd May, 1924 had already been wiped out as a result of the transaction entered into by the family under the sale deed dated 11th June, 1941. 3. Therefore, not only that there is no evidence whatsoever that any consideration covered by the document dated 17th May, 1941 was at all appropriated towards the satisfaction of the debt covered by the mortgage document dated 3rd May, 1924 but further that by the time the joint family had acquired the southern half of plot No. 193 under the document dated 27th May, 1942 the very pious obligation even if any for the sons to pay the debt constituted i.e. under the document dated 3rd May 1924 had ceased to exist and it was obviously for that reason that though the kebala initially was for paying off the sudbharna money, the High Court by its judgment directed the consideration to be paid in cash to the vendor, thus leaving no title in the vendee to redeem the mortgage referred to therein.

Final Decision: The appeal has to be dismissed with costs.

Judgment

Ahmad, J.

1. This is an appeal by the, defendants first party against the judgment and decree dated 22-9-1951, passed by Mr. Satchitanand, Subordinate Judge, 1st Court, Monghyr, reversing those passed by Mr. B.N. Pathak, Additional Munsif, Begusarai.

2. The suit was for the declaration that the kebalas dated 17-5-1941 and 11-6-1941, both executed by Basudeo Choudhary, defendant 3rd party (defendant No. 15) who is the eldest brother of plaintiffs 2 and 3 and the son of plaintiff No. 1, were not binding on the plaintiffs and that the decree dated 14-4-1945, passed in Mortgage Suit No. 60 of 1942 was null and void.

3. The dispute between the parties relates to the southern half of plot No. 193 having an area of about 1 bigha 5 kathas and 161/2 dhurs. It appears that originally so long as Subans Choudhry, the husband of plaintiff No. 1, was alive, what belonged to his family in plot No. 193 was only its northern half. On 3-5-1924, Subans Choudhry executed a deed of mortgage in respect of that northern half of plot No. 193 in favour of defendants 4th party for a sum of Rs. 500/-. Subsequently on his death two documents of sale were executed on behalf of that joint family. The one was dated 17-5-1941.

Under the terms of that deed the southern half of plot No. 193 is shown to have been sold for a sum of Rs. 500.00 to the defendant first party Ram Kirpal Choudhary. The entire consideration, however, of that sale was left with the vendee to redeem the mortgage dated 3-5-1924 executed by Subans Choudhry in favour of the defendants 4th party in respect of the northern half of plot No. 193. The other document of sale was dated 11-6-1941. This was in respect of the northern half of plot No. 193 and was executed in favour of its mortgagees defendants 4th party, for a sum of Rs. 600/-; and out of that consideration Rs. 500/-was to be appropriated by the vendee towards their mortgage money and only the remaining sum of Rs. 100.00 was to be paid in cash to the executant of the document.

It is not denied that at the time when the aforesaid two sale deeds were executed the family of the executant had not yet acquired any interest in the southern half of plot No. 193 but were the owners only of its northern half. It is, therefore, obvious that the southern half of plot No. 193 could not then be sold by that family under the document dated 17-5-1941.

4. But in 1942 the defendants 1st party relying on the sale deed dated 17-5-1941, instituted a title suit bearing No. 60 of 1942 impleading therein the defendants 4th party, plaintiffs 2 and 3 and defendant No. 15 as defendants for the redemption of the mortgage deed dated 3-5-1924 as also for the declaration that what was in fact sold to the defendants 1st party under their sale deed D/- 17-5-1941 was the equity of redemption in the northern half of plot No. 193 and not its southern half. In the first two Courts that suit was dismissed. But by the time when that matter came to be heard in the High Court in second appeal, an important event took place. That was that on 27-5-1942 the family of the plaintiffs purchased the southern half of plot No. 193 from the defendants 2nd party under a sale deed executed in the name of plaintiff No. 2. The result of this acquisition was that at the time when the appeal in the redemption suit was taken up for hearing in the High Court, the defendants first party at once fell upon the provision of law laid down in Sec. 43 of the Transfer of Property Act and prayed that because of that purchase in the family they were now in any case entitled at least to a decree for the southern half of plot No. 193.

The High Court on hearing the parties accepted that contention and allowed the appeal in those terms on 30-9-1947. That decree was, however, subject to the condition that the defendants first party would be entitled to recover possession of the southern half only on cash payment of the consideration money, namely. Rs. 500.00 as stipulated in the sale deed dated th
































































Click Here to Read the rest of this document
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Judicial Analysis

AI

SupremeToday Portrait Ad
supreme today icon
logo-black

An indispensable Tool for Legal Professionals, Endorsed by Various High Court and Judicial Officers

Please visit our Training & Support
Center or Contact Us for assistance

qr

Scan Me!

India’s Legal research and Law Firm App, Download now!

For Daily Legal Updates, Join us on :

whatsapp-icon Back to top