Property disputes require clear proof of title and possession; without these, claims may be barred by limitation and statutory provisions.

JUDGMENT :

(SHEKHAR KUMAR YADAV, J.)

Background of the Appeals

1. First Appeal No. 45 of 2007 has been filed by the appellants— Defendants No. 6, 7, and 8—while First Appeal No. 71 of 2007 has been preferred by the appellant–Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). Both appeals challenge the judgment and decree dated November 21, 2006, passed by the learned Additional District Judge, Court No. 11, Aligarh, in Suit No. 1210 of 2004. By this judgment, the trial court partly decreed the suit in favor of the plaintiff–LIC, declaring the sale deed dated September 23, 2000, executed in favor of Defendants No. 6 to 8, void and ineffective to the extent of 550 square yards.

2. First Appeal No. 70 of 2007 was filed by the plaintiff-appellant LIC under Section 96 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. This appeal challenges the judgment and decree dated November 21, 2006, passed in Original Suit No. 1211 of 2004, in which LIC sought a decree declaring the sale deed dated September 23, 2000, void with respect to Plot Nos. 12, 13, 14, and 15, each having an area of 450 square yards, carved out of Khasra No. 37 & 38. The plaintiff seeks a reversal of the judgment insofar as it dismissed its claim for permanent injunction and prays that the suit be decreed in its entirety with costs. Separately, Defendants No. 1 to 5 (including heirs) have filed Cross-Objection No. 128636 of 2007, challenging the trial court’s findings on Issues No. 1, 2, 3, 6, and 8.

3. Since all the aforementioned appeals pertain to the same subject matter, they are being decided together by this common judgment.

4. The plaintiff–LIC instituted Original Suit No. 1210 of 2004 seeking a declaration that the sale deed dated September 23, 2000, executed by M/s Bharat Stores Ltd. in favor of Defendants No. 6 to 8, was void to the extent it pertained to 550 square yards of land, allegedly forming part of Khasra Nos. 33 and 34, Mauja Daulatabad, Aligarh. A decree of permanent injunction was also sought to restrain defendants- respondents from interfering with the said land. The trial court, by its judgment dated November 21, 2006, partly decreed the suit by declaring the impugned sale deed dated September 23, 2000, void to the extent of 550 square yards but declined to grant the relief of permanent injunction. Aggrieved, Defendants No. 6 to 8 filed First Appeal No. 45 of 2007, while LIC filed First Appeal No. 71 of 2007 against the denial of the injunction.

5. Mr. Arvind Srivastava, learned counsel for the respondents/defendants, assisted by Mr. Vineet Vikram, Advocate; Mr. Divakar Rai Sharma, learned counsel appearing in the cross-objection; and Mr. Shashi Nandan, learned Senior Counsel, assisted by Ms. Divya Chaurasia, learned counsel for the appellant (LIC), were heard, and the record was perused.

6. The record discloses that the dispute pertains to 550 square yards of land forming part of the larger Khasra Nos. 33, 34, 37, and 38, situated within Kailash Nagar Colony, Aligarh. The plaintiff–LIC claimed that the said portion was previously transferred to its predecessor, Swadeshi Insurance Company, through a sale deed dated July 23, 1954, executed by Lal Singh & Sons, who had acquired it under a sale deed dated August 3, 1949, from Bharat Stores Ltd. In contrast, Defendants No. 6 to 8 contended that they purchased the same land through a registered sale deed dated September 23, 2000, from Bharat Stores Ltd., acting through its attorney Sanjeev Kumar Maheshwari. The trial court held