The duty of the plaintiff to appear before the Court and depose, and the significance of oral evidence in proving crucial circumstances.

The appeals are focussed as against the common judgment and decrees passed in O.S.No.677 of 1995 and O.S.No.196 of 1987 dated 25.03.1988 by the learned Sub Judge, Sankagiri. For convenience sake, the parties are referred to here under according to their litigative status before the trial Court.

2. Heard the learned counsel appearing for the parties.

3. Niggard and bereft of details, the case of the plaintiff in O.S.No.62 of 1985 on the file of District Munsif Court, Thiruchengode and subsequently transferred to Sub Court, Sankagiri and renumbered as O.S.No.196 of 1987, as could be understood from the plaint would run thus:-

Sreeranga Goundar @ Chinnapaiyan filed the said suit in O.S.No.62 of 1985 as against his son D3, Arunachalam and D-2 Kotteswaran, the decree holder and D-1 Subramaniam, the auction purchaser of the suit property on the main ground that the suit property was originally purchased by the plaintiff herein along with one other person vide sale deed Ex.A.1 dated 13. 1946; subsequently, as per Ex.A.2, partition deed dated 07.04.1958, those purchasers got the property divided, where under the suit property was allotted to the share of the plaintiff herein Sreeranga Gounder; while so, D2 Kotteswran, the decree holder in his suit, as against Arunuchalam for recovery of money, brought the suit property belonging to the plaintiff Sreeranga Gounder in the Court auction sale, in which D-1 Subramaniam was the successful bidder and he purchased the alleged undivided half share of Arunachalam as though the suit property belonged to Sreeranga Gounder and Arunachalam; Sreeranga Gounder, the plaintiff was not aware of those proceedings and subsequently when he came to know of it, he filed the suit for declaration declaring that he was the absolute owner of the property and for consequential injunction restraining the defendants from disturbing his possession. D-1 auction purchaser remained exparte.

4. D-2 Kotteeswaran, the decree holder denying and refuting, challenging and impugning the allegations/averments in the plaint, filed the written statement, the gist and kernel of it would run thus:

D-2, being the decree holder, brought for sale the undivided half share of D-3, the Judgment Debtor in the suit property and it was properly auctioned in favour of D-1. The plaintiff was not the absolute owner of the suit property. In fact, the plaintiff and D-3 colluded together and filed the said suit. The executing Court recorded the delivery in accordance with law. The plaintiff despite knowing all these proceedings simply kept quiet and as such the suit filed by him is untenable.

5. D-3 Arunachalam son of the plaintiff filed the written statement. The pith and marrow of it would run thus:-

D-3 had no right over the suit property, which was brought for sale and as such the auction purchaser could not have got any title to D-3s alleged undivided share in the property. D-3 was ignorant of the execution proceedings.

6. However, D-1 in the aforesaid suit in O.S.No.62 of 1985 on the file of District Munsif Court, Thiruchengode which was subsequently transferred to Sub Court, Sankagiri and renumbered as O.S.No.196 of 1987, filed a separate suit in O.S.No.677 of 1985 for cancelling the sale certificate and for recovery of the money paid by him under such illegal sale effected in the EP proceedings concerned. The gist and kernel of the averments in the plaint of Subramaniam in O.S.No.677 of 1985 is virtually on par with the averments as found set out in the pliant of Sreeranga Gounder in O.S.No.62 of 1985. D-2, the decree holder filed the written statement in O.S.No.677 of 1986 on the same line as in the written statement filed in O.S.No.196 of 1987 (O.S.No.62 of 1985) as set out supra.

7. The lower Court framed the relevant issues in both the suits and a joint trial was conducted. During trial, no oral evidence was adduced on either side. On consent Exs.A1 to A12 were marked on Sreeranga Gounders side. On the other side, Exs.B.1