A suit for permanent injunction is not maintainable in the absence of proof of possession of the plaintiffs.

1. This second appeal arises out of a suit for permanent injunction which has been dismissed by both the courts below.

2. The plaintiff appellantsandapos; case was as follows: One Baij Nath Lal is said to have been the raiyat of the suit plot as his self-acquired property. For some urgent necessities he is said to have sold this plot to his wife, Mossamat Kamli, who in her turn sold it to her daughter, who again sold it to the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs, therefore, claimed to be in possession of the suit land after their purchase. It was said that the defendants were making false allegations leading to a proceeding under Sec.107 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and that they had set up defendant No. 4 to make a false claim to the land and the said defendant tried to construct a temporary shed on the portion of the land and hence the necessity of the suit for maintaining the status quo.

3. The suit was contested by defendant No. 4 alone who claimed to be the purchaser of the said plot from defendants 1 to 3, the sons of the aforesaid Baij Nath Lal. According to him, the land was coparcenary property of Baij Nath Lal and his sons and he purchased a major portion of the plot in question from those defendants and the remaining portion from one Phulwanti to whom those defendants had sold that portion. His further case was that the sale deed executed by Baij Nath Lal in favour of Mossamat Kamli and his two sons was a farzi transaction and that in spite of it all the three sons of Baij Nath had acquired the property. He, therefore, alleged adverse possession of himself and his predecessors-in-interest as against the plaintiffs. He thus claimed to be in possession in his own right and to have constructed certain rooms on the land.

4. The trial court found that the sale by Baij Nath Lal was not to his wife alone, but also to defendants 2 and 3. It further found that her transferee, that is, her daughter, came to be in joint possession as a result of the sale to her which was valid to the extent of the interest of Baij Nathandapos;s wife. It further found that defendant No. 4 had also acquired a good title by the sale to him made by defendants 2 and 3, who were the original transferees from Baij Nath Lal. It, however, found that the plaintiffs had not come in possession and on that ground dismissed the suit. On the question of adverse possession it found against the defendants.

5. The plaintiffs went up in appeal and did not challenge the other findings except, that with regard to the validity and effect of the sale deed and the question of maintainability of the suit. The lower appellate court found agreeing with the court below that the plaintiffs had acquired the interest of Mossamat Kamli to the extent of her share in the property sold to her by Baij Nath Lal and the defendant No. 4, acquired the interest to the extent of the interest which defendants 2 and 3 had acquired by virtue of their sale deed. On the second point again concurring with the trial court, it found that the suit for mere injunction was not maintainable in the absence of proof of possession of the plaintiffs.

6. The only point which has been raised by learned counsel for the appellants in the second appeal is that the court having found that the appellants had acquired a part of the interest of the property and had not come into possession, it should have decreed the suit to the extent of that interest for possession and granted permanent injunction in respect of that portion. In support of the argument, it is said that plaintiffsandapos; title having been found, they were entitled to possession and, therefore, there was no difficulty in the courts below decreeing possession upon their own findings. Learned counsel has placed reliance on a few decisions to support the proposition that even though the suit may be framed one way, the court may grant a decree in respect of some relief which is not prayed for. They are Kedar Lal Seal V/s. Hari Lal Seal, (AIR