An agreement to sell executed primarily as security for a loan lacks intention to transfer property rights.

Judgment

Mr. Sanjay Vashisth, J. :-Present regular second appeal has been filed by the appellant/plaintiff against the concurrent findings of dismissal of civil suit.

2. Appellant/plaintiff-Amrik Singh filed a suit for possession by way of specific performance of agreement to sell dated 20.07.2009 executed by the defendant/respondent in favour of plaintiff, in respect of land measuring 9 Bigha 18 Biswa out of land comprising of khewat/khatuani no. 248/376, 377, 378, 379, 380, and 381 bearing Khasra no. 245(2-0), 181(9-10), 180 (3-5), 247 (1-18), 246 min (2-15), 246 min (0-5), 248(6-17), situated in the area of village Oind HB No. 294, Tehsil Chamkaur Sahib, District Rupnagar as entered in the jamabandi for the year 2002-03.

The pleaded facts by the plaintiff are that defendant/respondent-Gurdip Singh entered into an agreement to sell dated 20.07.2009 with plaintiff/appellant-Amrik Singh for the purpose of selling land measuring 9 Bigha 18 Biswa at the rate of Rs.7,50,000/- per acre. An amount of Rs.9,20,000/- was paid as earnest money by the plaintiff to defendant at the time of execution of agreement in the presence of witnesses. Defendant agreed to execute and register the sale deed in favour of plaintiff on or before 30.06.2010, after receiving balance sale consideration. However, on request made by the defendant, date of execution and registration of sale deed was extended upto 20.06.2011. In that regard, one separate endorsement was also made on the back side of the agreement to sell dated 20.07.2009. Again on 16.04.2010, another set of part payment of Rs.1,80,000/- was paid by the plaintiff to the defendant in the presence of witnesses, which was recorded vide a separate endorsement on the back side of the agreement to sell in question, duly signed by the parties and other witnesses. Thus, out of total sale consideration, an amount of Rs.11,00,000/- was paid by the plaintiff to the defendant as earnest money.

3. Finally, on 20.06.2011 (i.e. the last stipulated date), plaintiff visited the Office of Sub Registrar, Morinda alongwith balance sale consideration and other expenses for executing the sale deed and its registration, but despite waiting there till 5:00 p.m., defendant did not turn up for performing his part of contract/agreement. After getting the presence marked through a duly attested affidavit, plaintiff returned back and resultantly, present civil suit No.20 was instituted on 01.02.2014.

4. In the written statement, defendant took some preliminary objections and also pleaded on merits that he never entered into any agreement to sell with the plaintiff as alleged by plaintiff. Thus, agreement to sell in question is a forged and fabricated document only prepared as an afterthought with a motive to cheat and grab his property. In fact, defendant is a simple ignorant villager and farmer by occupation. Moreover, land being fertile in nature, there was no reason with the defendant/farmer to sell his fertile land for such a meagre amount.

Further pleaded that defendant was having friendly relations and on visiting terms with plaintiff since, 2009 and at the time of the need, plaintiff had been advancing him friendly loan. Further pleads that in reality, plaintiff advanced him a friendly loan of Rs.6,00,000/- and in lieu of that obtained his signatures on some blank papers under the pretext of fulfilling some formalities despite returning of the loan amount by defendant, plaintiff never returned the said documents, which were ultimately used by plaintiff for the purpose of committing forgery in connivance with the witnesses.

5. Defednant has transferred the amount of Rs.2,00,000/- on 07.01.2013 from his own saving account to the account of plaintiff. Another set of amount of Rs.1,00,000/- was paid by t