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1953 Supreme(Raj) 58

Rajasthan High Court
Bapna, J.
Dalu - Appellant
Versus
Juharmal - Respondents
S.B. Civil second Appeal No. 299 of 1950
Decided On : March 16, 1953

Advocates Appeared:
Tej Singh Mehta, for Appellant; Chandmal and Harnarain Bansal, for Respondents

Headnote:Practice — Evidence — Documents-Originals kept by parties and copies placed on record—Practice prevails in Mewar and Marwar—Courts may look into originals if necessary. (Para 5)Evidence Act, s. 63—Statement of witness who has not himself read the document is not secondary evidence of its contents. (Para 7)

       Entries in public or other official books evidencing a fact are relevant only if they are made as part of the duty of the officer pre- paring such documents to mention the facts which appear in these documents. (Para 6)

Bapna, J.—This is a second appeal in a suit for redemption of a mortgage.

2. The appellant sued the respondents for redemption of a mortgage alleged to have been effected by Kela Bhajja in favour of Daya Ram. According to the plaint, a plot of land 17 bighas & 14 bighas bearing Survey Record No. 207 in village Rewara, Tehsil Rashmi, was mortgaged somewhere about S. 1956 for Rs. 25/-. It was alleged that the defendants who are the sons and heirs of Daya Ram had not only paid themselves off, but had enjoyed an excess income of Rs. 200/- since the date of the mortgage. It was alleged that the plaintiff Dalu was the heir and legal representative of the mortgagor and redemption was prayed without any payment of money or such payment of money to which the defendants may be entitled under the mortgage. The defendants denied the mortgage and set up their own title on account of a sale alleged to have been executed by Megha Sawai Ram in favour of Sola It was alleged that they were in possession of the property in dispute since generations and for a portion thereof held a sale-deed dated Poh Sudi 7, Smt. 1950 in their favour. The trial court accepted the genuineness of the sale-deed relied upon by the defendants which was in respect of 7 bighas, but decreed the suit for redemption of 10 bighas 14 biswas of land without any payment to the defendants. Both the parties being dis-satisfied with the judgment of the Munsif Kapasin, filed appeals to the Court of District Judge at Chittorgarh. The learned District Judge came to the conclusion firstly that the mortgage relied upon by the plaintiff had not been proved and secondly that the plaintiff had failed to prove that he was successor in interest of Kela Bhajja. He accordingly accepted the defendants appeal and dismissed the suit. The appeal of the plaintiff was automatically dismissed.

3. In this appeal, it was argued that the plaintiff produced two copies of the settlement records of Smt. 1983 and Smt. 2002 in which the defendants possession is mentioned as that of a mortgagee, and that the lower court has erred in not relying on that evidence. It was also argued that the defendants who were in possession of the land must have been paying rent to the State, but they failed to produce the receipts and it should be presumed that rent was paid by them to the account of the plaintiff. Reliance was placed on oral evidence which has been held to be unreliable by the learned District Judge. An order of the Tehsildar in mutation proceedings by which the plaintiff Dalu was directed to be entered as Khatedar in place of Kela Bhajja, on 9th Feb., 1946 was also relied upon.

4. As to the next question of Dalu plaintiff being the successor in title to Kela Bhajja, reliance was placed on a decision of Mehdraj Sabha dated 19th May 1911.

5. On behalf of the respondents, it was contended that both the points on which the District Judge dismissed the suit were points of fact and could not be raised in second appeal. It may be stated at the outset that the points raised by learned counsel for the appellant become questions of law in so far as certain documentary evidence such as copies of State records were not held admissible by the District Judge. It was argued by the learned counsel for the appellant that under the law in Mewar known as Kanune Mal Mewar, which was Act No. 5 of 1947, records prepared under the old laws or rules have been declared to have the same effect as prepared under s. 3 (2) of the Act. The relevant portion says that documents relating to rights or other documents which had been prepared according to the Revenue Rule in force prior to the enforcement of the Kanune Mal Mewar, will so far as may be deemed to have been prepared under this Act The Act itself provides for certain documents to be prepared at the time of settlement and in the Chapter relating to settlements, it is mentioned that at the time of making settlement of any village or district, certain documents will be prepared. In s









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