2020 Supreme(Mad) 1151
IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADRAS
V. BHARATHIDASAN, J.
J.B. Franklin – Appellant
Versus
Vishwaksen Industries Pvt. Ltd. and Ors. – Respondents
C.R.P. No. 3861 of 2018 and C.M.P. No. 5832 of 2019
Decided On : 12-05-2020
Advocate Appeared:
For the Appellant : S. Gomathinayagam, Senior Counsel for N. Samundeeswari
For the Respondents: V.P. Sengottuvel for T. Dharani
Headnote:
Civil Procedure Code, 1908 – Order VII Ruled 11 – Limitation Act – Article 54 – Registration Act – Section 17 and 49 – Stamp Act – Section 2 – Transfer of Property Act - Section 53 – Power of Attorney – No Authority – Suit – First respondent filed a suit for specific performance directing defendants to execute Sale deed pursuant to Sale Agreement Pending suit petitioner filed an application to reject plaint and the same has been dismissed by trial Court challenging same present revision has filed a suit on file of III Additional District Court, Kallakurichi, on ground that suit schedule properties originally belongs to petitioner/2nd defendant and second defendant executed a Registered Power of Attorney defendant to sell property – Pursuant to first defendant sold a portion of suit schedule property to plaintiff also agreed to sell the remaining portion of property to plaintiff and received sale consideration also executed a sale agreement cum receipt – Held, Lower Appellate Court that the plaintiff had not signed Ex. A1-Agreement and no consensus ad idem and therefore said document cannot be relied upon is concerned – Honble Apex Court and this Court in various judgments have repeatedly held that if owner of property had signed agreement executed in favour of purchaser is sufficient for claiming right under said document – case on hand, though plaintiff had not signed Ex. A1 document he is entitled to claim right document for reason that owner of document himself had executed said document plaintiff power of attorney of 2nd defendant/owner of property has duly signed in sale agreement cum receipt, and he has also not disputed that signature merely because purchaser plaintiff herein failed to sign in document it cannot be said that there is no concluded contract and based on that plaintiff cannot maintain suit – Civil Revision Petition is dismissed.
ORDER :
V. Bharathidasan, J.
1. This Civil Revision has been filed against the order dismissing the petitioner's application to reject the plaint filed under Order VII Rule 11 CPC.
2. The petitioner is the second defendant in the suit. The first respondent/plaintiff, has filed a suit for specific performance directing the defendants to execute the Sale deed pursuant to the Sale Agreement dated 26.03.2008. Pending suit petitioner, filed an application to reject the plaint and the same has been dismissed by the trial Court. Now, challenging the same, the present revision has been filed.
3. For the sake of convenience the parties are referred to as per their rank in the trial Court.
4. The first respondent/plaintiff, filed a suit in O.S. No. 15 of 2018, on the file of the III Additional District Court, Kallakurichi, on the ground that, the suit schedule properties originally belongs to the petitioner/2nd defendant, and the second defendant executed a Registered Power of Attorney dated 27.07.2005, in favour of the first defendant to sell the property. Pursuant to the said Power of Attorney, the first defendant sold a portion of the suit schedule property to the plaintiff, also agreed to sell the remaining portion of the property to the plaintiff, and received a sum of Rs. 11,07,000/- towards the sale consideration, also executed a sale agreement cum receipt dated 26.03.2008. According to the plaintiff, the entire sale consideration has been paid to the defendants and they have to execute the sale deed. However, when the plaintiff approached the first defendant to fix a date for executing the sale deed, the first defendant informed them that, they will fix a date in January 2016, but, they failed to do so. Thereafter, the plaintiff was unable to meet the defendants as they were not available. Hence, the plaintiff issued a legal notice, but the same was returned as the defendants left their residence without instructions. In the said circumstances, the suit has been filed for the above said relief.
5. Pending suit, the second defendant filed an application under Order VII Ruled 11 CPC, to reject the plaint stating that, he is the absolute owner of the suit schedule property and due to ill-health, he executed a power of attorney in favour of the first defendant, on condition that a sum of Rs. 10 Crores should be paid by the second defendant to the first defendant within six months from the date of execution of power of attorney. But, the second defendant failed to pay the amount. Hence, the first defendant directed the second defendant not to execute any sale deed based on the power of attorney. Thereafter, the plaintiff issued a legal notice on 19.03.2008, then only the second defendant came to know about all those transactions. According to the second defendant, the Power of Attorney was not in force, and the first defendant has no authority to enter into a sale agreement, it is not binding on the second defendant. It is further stated that the suit is also barred by limitation, and the suit has been filed based on the copy of the sale agreement executed on 26.03.2008 between the first defendant and the plaintiff, and the said sale agreement is a forged one, and the plaintiff cannot act upon the sale agreement after 10 years. That apart, the sale agreement was not registered and it is inadmissible in evidence in view of Section 49 of the Registration Act, as the Registration is compulsory under Section 17 of the Registration Act. As the time is essence of the contract for performance of Agreement of the sale, and the suit ought to have been filed within 3 years, under Article 54 of the Limitation Act. The Sale Agreement cum receipt was said to have issued on 26.03.2008, however the suit was filed on 13.03.2018 and it is barred by limitation. That apart, there is no cause of action arises for the suit. The suit was filed on 13.03.2018