Failure to challenge a valid Will can lead to the inheritor becoming the absolute owner of the property, as seen in the case.

JUDGMENT :

Tarlok Singh Chauhan, J.

Aggrieved by the judgments and decrees passed by the learned Courts below, the plaintiffs-appellants have filed the instant regular second appeal.

2. The parties shall be referred to as the ‘plaintiffs’ and ‘defendants’.

3. Original plaintiff Shri Devi Dyal (now deceased), predecessor-in-interest of the plaintiffs and father of defendant No.1 and husband of proforma defendant No.5, filed a suit through next friend Shri Pankaj Sharma, plaintiff No.1, against the defendants for declaration with consequential relief of injunction. It was averred that Devi Dyal was a person of unsound mind and also deaf and dumb and insane. He was owner in possession of land measuring 1-05-00 bighas, comprised in Khasra No. 2746/712, Khata Khatauni No. 794min/1095min, situated in Phati Dhalpur Kothi Maharaja, Tehsil and District Kullu (hereinafter to be referred as the suit land). Devi Dyal was married to proforma defendant No.5 and out of the said wedlock two sons, namely, Dinesh Kumar, defendant No.1 and one Kalu and one daughter, namely Sucheta Sharma were born. Kalu died unmarried and issueless in the year 1990. Sucheta was married to one Shri Nain Sukh, resident of Dhalpur, Kullu and out of the said wedlock, the plaintiffs were born. It was the specific case of deceased-Devi Dyal that defendant No.1 was a clever person and without the knowledge of anybody procured general power of attorney dated 10.03.1998 by exercising fraud and misrepresentation and got it registered in the Office of Sub Registrar, Hamirpur as he never executed the said power of attorney due to disability. It was further averred that the power of attorney was procured by defendant No.1 after conniving with Sub-Registrar, Hamirpur and defendant No.1 fabricated the document away from the place of deceased-Devi Dyal, so no one from his family could know about the aforesaid forged document. It was also averred that defendant No.1 and Sub Registrar, Hamirpur, being related and in connivance with each other and also knowing the fact that Devi Dyal was of unsound mind and was not capable to understand the nature of the document got the same executed and on the strength of said power of attorney executed a sale deed No. 215 dated 09.02.2005 in respect of land measuring 0-09-00 bighas being 9/25 share out of the suit land in favour of defendant No.2 Ses Ram for a consideration of Rs.2,70,000/-. Defendant No.1 also executed another sale deed No. 214 dated 09.02.2005 in favour of defendant No.3 Hari Chand for a consideration of Rs. 1,50,000/- in respect of land measuring 0-05-00 bighas being 5/25 share out of the suit land. Defendant No.1 further sold 0-05-00 bighas being 5/25 share out of the suit land in favour of defendant No.4 Amar Chand for a consideration of Rs.1,50,000/-. The plaintiffs averred that the aforesaid sale deeds were illegal, bogus, null and void as deceased Devi Dyal never appointed defendant No.1 as his power of attorney. The plaintiffs prayed that a decree for declaration to the effect that sale deeds in favour of defendants No. 2 to 4 executed by defendant No.1 in the capacity of general power of attorney of deceased Devi Dyal be declared illegal, null and void and further the general power of attorney dated 10.03.1998 registered in the office of the Sub Registrar, Hamirpur be also declared null and void and defendant No.1 be restrained from acting on the basis of the aforesaid attorney and further defendants No.2 to 4 be restrained from claiming any right, title and interest over the suit land.

4. The defendants resisted and contested the suit. Defendants No. 1 and 5 filed separate written statement by taking preliminary objections regarding cause of action, locus-standi, concealment of material facts, limitation and they prayed for dismissal of the suit with special costs under Section 35-A CPC. On merits, the defendants denied that Devi Dyal was deaf and dumb and was of unsound mind. It was averred that Devi Dyal was hale and he