HIGH COURT OF DELHI: NEW DELHI
MANMOHAN SINGH, J.
RAJ KUMARI GARG : Plaintiff
Versus
S.M. EZAZ & ORS. : Defendants
I.A Nos.7178/2009 & 13107/2011 in CS (OS) No.243/2009
Decided On : 07.03.2012
Transfer of Property Act, 1882 - Section 41 & 53-A - Plaintiff entering into agreement to sell and handed over the possession in part performance - Agreement to sell authorising the defendant to enter into further agreement to sell the property - Suit by plaintiff for recovery of possession from the transferee under agreement to sell is hit by section 41 & 53-A of the Act - Suit held to be not maintainable - Plaint rejected.
MANMOHAN SINGH, J.
1. By this order I propose to decide two abovementioned applications. The brief summary of the facts is that the plaintiff herein has filed the present suit for possession and perpetual injunction for the commercial property bearing No.23, Ground Floor, Defence Colony Market, New Delhi-110024, admeasuring about 92.78 sq yards (hereinafter referred to as suit property). The plaintiff claims to be the exclusive owner of the suit property having perpetual leasehold rights granted to her by Land & Development Office, Ministry of Rehabilitation, Government of India, Nirman Bhawan, vide perpetual lease deed dated 19.12.1974, which now consisting of basement, ground floor, first floor and second floor.
2. The plaintiff states that she had received the suit property through funds received under a duly signed voluntary “Family Settlement” dated 11.07.1974 executed between Late Sh. Lala Ram, Shyam Behari, Bhagwan Dass, Balkrishan and Smt. Kalawati w/o Sri Badri Prasad. An amount of Rs. 32,880/- was given to the plaintiff to purchase the suit property with a specific condition that the plaintiff will have no right to sell the property so purchased from the money provided by them. Accordingly, a lifetime limited right to use/enjoy and the income generated there from. The plaintiff purchased the suit property for a consideration of Rs. 30,000/-.
3. Further, the plaintiff states that she was in actual possession of the suit property until one Mr. Dinesh Gupta, s/o Late R.K. Gupta and his mother Smt Nirmala Gupta, fraudulently obtained plaintiff?s signature and thumb impression on some documents such as Agreement to Sell etc. which were written in English. According to the plaintiff, she does not know how to read and write in English, therefore, she could not read the documents in English and under misrepresentation of facts and law she signed those documents. They gave her a sum of Rs.25 lac and took physical possession of the suit property by execution of an Agreement to Sell dated 07.07.1998 between them. But, as the family of the plaintiff was against the sale of the suit property to the said Dinesh Gupta and his mother, therefore, the plaintiff immediately informed them in July, 1998 only that she did not want to sell the suit property and that all the documents including agreement to sell dated 07.07.1998 be treated as cancelled. She also offered to return their Rs.25 lac.
4. According to the plaintiff, a fraud was committed by said Dinesh Gupta and his mother Nirmala Gupta, the defendant No.3 and 4 herein who sold the suit property to defendants No.1 and 2 by way of Agreement to Sell dated 01.05.2004 for a sum of Rs.35 lac without obtaining proper permission from the plaintiff or the Government of India. The entire sum was misappropriated by them. She also filed an FIR being No.685/04 on 17.12.2004, with the Defence Colony Police Station against defendants No. 3 and 4 in this regard.
5. In the written statement, the defendant Nos.1 & 2 have raised the defence that the suit itself is not maintainable as it has been filed with the intention to harass the defendants. The following defences have been raised by the defendant Nos.1 and 2 in the written statement :
a) It is stated in the written statement that the suit is not only malafide and false but, it is also not maintainable under the provisions of law. The defendants No.1 & 2 are the bonafide purchasers of the suit property.
b) It is further submitted that the suit is highly malafide and a gross abuse and misuse of the judicial process. After selling the property to the defendants No.3 & 4 in 1998, the plaintiff ceased to have any right, title or interest in the suit property. The present suit has been filed with dishonest and malafide intentions to harass and pressurize the defendants No.1 & 2 to extract some money illegally from them.
c) It is further alleged that the suit as framed is not maintainable because the suit, is only for possession and injuncti
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