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1950 Supreme(All) 400

IN THE HIGH COURT OF ALLAHABAD
Wanchoo, Agarwala and P. L. Bhargava, JJ.
JOKHU MAL - Appellant
Versus
GOPI MAL - Respondents
Civil Revn. 54 Of 1947
Decided On : 12/21/1950

Advocates Appeared:
A.P.Pandey, KANHAIYA LAL MISHRA

Headnote:

AGRICULTURISTS RELIEF ACT - SECTION 12 - MORTGAGE OF JOINT SIR LAND - EXTINGUISHMENT OF EX-PROPRIETARY RIGHTS - RIGHTS OF MORTGAGOR ON REDEMPTION.

Fact of the Case:

A co-sharer mortgaged his share in a joint sir land to another co-sharer. The mortgagor did not claim ex-proprietary rights after the mortgage. The mortgagee obtained possession of the mortgaged property. The mortgagor's rights were sold at auction and the plaintiffs purchased them. They filed a suit for redemption and obtained a decree. The defendant appealed and the lower appellate court modified the decree by ordering that the plaintiffs will not be entitled to actual possession over the Sir plots. The plaintiffs filed a revision application in the High Court.

Finding of the Court:

The High Court held that the mortgagor became an ex-proprietary tenant of one half share in the joint Sir plots appertaining to his proprietary rights upon the execution of the usufructuary mortgage. Since no proceedings under Section 36, Land Revenue Act, were taken no rent was fixed on the ex-proprietary tenancy and its area was not marked off. But that did not prevent the accrual of tenancy rights in half the area of the joint sir plots. Half of the Sir having become subject of an ex-proprietary tenancy that area ceased to be Sir under Section 7. The ex-proprietary rights were extinguished after the expiry of six months from the date of sale of the mortgagor's rights. Therefore, the plaintiffs, who are transferees of the equity of redemption have no right to recover exclusive possession of the plots in dispute to the exclusion of the joint sir holders.

Issues: Whether a co-sharer, who has mortgaged his share in a joint sir land to another co-sharer and has not claimed ex-proprietary rights, is entitled to claim back the said area from the mortgagee at the time of redemption.

Ratio Decidendi: 1. Upon the transfer of proprietary rights in sir land, exproprietary rights accrue in favour of the transferor by operation of law. 2. The accrual or continuance of exproprietary rights is not prevented either by the transferor taking no steps to have them demarcated or because he wishes to relinquish them which he by himself cannot do in law. 3. Therefore, during the period exproprietary rights continue to exist, the other sir holders can claim to hold sir over their shares only in the joint sir and not over the whole, and when the exproprietary rights are extinguished, there can be no survivorship because the exproprietary tenant and the sir holders were not joint holders of a common estate, and there is no survivorship in the case of persons holding different kinds of rights. 4. Further it was not noticed that upon the creation of exproprietary tenancy the ex-proprietor becomes tenant of the entire proprietary body and upon the extinguishment of the exproprietary tenancy the land reverts not to the joint sir holder but to the entire proprietary body.

Final Decision: The High Court answered the question referred to it by holding that where a co-sharer, while mortgaging his zamindari property to a joint sir-holder includes in the mortgage a part of the joint sir area over which by arrangement between him and his other co-sharers, he is in separate possession he is entitled to claim back the said area from the mortgagee at the time of the redemption only if he, having become an exproprietary tenant of the area in dispute, still retains his ex-proprietary rights at the time of redemption. But if he has lost his exproprietary rights, then he or his transferee can only obtain joint possession with the mortgagee who is also a co-sharer over that portion of the sir area which becomes khalsa land, that is to say, over the portion which corresponds to the share of the mortgagor or his transferee in the proprietary rights.


AGARWALA, J.

( 1 ) THE applicants in the above civil revision and the appellants in the connected Execution second Appeal were the plaintiffs in a proceeding under Section 12, U. P. Agriculturists Relief act.

( 2 ) THE property in dispute was a half share in Khewat No. 16 of village Sultanpur Baragaon. This khewat was owned by Gopimal, defendant-opposite party, to the extent of one half and by two other persons Bharosa Mal and Ram Swarup Mal who owned tbe other half. All these three co sharers had joint Sir and Khudkasht plots in the Khewat. On 14-6-1928, Bharosa Mal and Ram swarup Mal executed a usufructuary mortgage of their half share in the Khewat in favour of their co sharer Gopi Mal. The mortgagors put Gopi Mal in possession of the mortgaged property including all those joint Sir and Khudkasht plots which were by mutual arrangement in their exclusive possession and did not retain or claim possession by virtue of ex-proprietary rights that accrued to them upon the execution of the mortgage and transfer of possession over the proprietary rights. On 10-3-1937, the rights of the mortgagors were sold at auction in execution of a simple money decree against them and were purchased under the Regulation of Sales Act of 1934 by the plaintiff-applicants Jokhu Lal, Rama Shankar Sheo Shankar and Sheo Narain. The plaintiff-applicants then deposited the mortgage money under Section 83, Transfer of Property act. On 5-7-1848 they filed a suit for redemption which was later converted into an application under Section 12, Agriculturists Relief Act.

( 3 ) IN defence several pleas were raised. But we are not concerned with them. The trial Court decreed the suit for possession. The defendants appealed to the lower appellate Court and the principal point taken in appeal was that the plaintiffs were not entitled to get actual possession of the Sir plots appertaining to the mortgaged share because the mortgagors Sir rights having become extinguished and they not having claimed ex-proprietary rights, the plots became the exclusive Sir plots of Gopi Mal, the co-sharer. The lower appellate Court upheld this plea and modified the decree of the trial Court by ordering that the plaintiffs will not be entitled to actual possession over the Sir plots. Meanwhile the plaintiffs had executed the trial Courts decree for possession and the defendant raised a similar plea in the execution proceedings. That plea was rejected by the trial Court. The defendant appealed to the lower appellate Court which allowed the appeal and passed an order in conformity with its order in the regular appeal from the decree of the Munsif. Against the decree in the regular appeal a revision application No. 54 of 1947 has been filed in this Court, while a Second Appeal has been filed against the decision of the lower appellate Court in the execution appeal. Both the cases came up for bearing before a Division bench of this Court which referred the following point for decision to this Full Bench.


where a co sharer while mortgaging his zamindari property includes in the mortgage a part of the joint Sir area over which by arrangement between him and his other co sharers, he is in separate possession whether he is entitled to claim back the said area from the mortgagee at the time of redemption or the mortgagee can successfully resist such a claim on the ground that he, being also a co-sharer, the Sir area has become his exclusive Sir land not returnable to the mortgagor. "

( 4 ) THE argument put forward on behalf of the defendant-mortgagee was that the mortgagor not having claimed ex-proprietary rights after the mortgage the rights lapsed and the joint Sir plots became the exclusive Sir plots of the other co-sharer namely, the mortgagee himself and, therefore, the plaintiffs could not recover possession of the joint Sir plots from the defendant who now held them in his capacity as a co-sharer and not in his capacity as a mortgagee. Mr. Kanhaiya Lal Misra answered this contention in t

























































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