J U D G M E N T

The respondent is the plaintiff. He filed a suit in O.S.No.1 of 2016 before the Fast Track Mahalir Judge, Dindigul against the appellant/defendant for recovery of money.

2. The trial Court after trial, allowed the suit. Challenging the said judgment and decree, the defendant has filed the present appeal.

3. The brief facts of the case are as follows:

Originally the suit property belongs to the defendant. The defendant offered to sell the suit property to the plaintiff. Both the plaintiff and the defendant have fixed a sum of Rs.29,12,000/- for sale consideration. On 06.07.2012, the defendant has received a sum of Rs.5,00,000/- as an advance, to which the defendant executed a sale agreement in favour of the plaintiff on 06.07.2012. The period of contract is six months. The plaintiff is ready and willing to perform the contract. But the defendant has not performed the contract. In the mean while, the defendant met the plaintiff and demanded some amount from the balance sale consideration. At that time also, the plaintiff conveys the message to the defendant that he is ready and willing to perform the contract. But the defendant stated that there is a dispute among his family members and after settling the dispute, the defendant will execute the sale deed in favour of the plaintiff. Then, the defendant received a sum of Rs.6,00,000/- from the plaintiff. After the receipt of the amount, the defendant made an endorsement in the original sale agreement on 18.06.2013. Thereafter, the defendant has not performed his part of the contract. Hence, the plaintiff has got an encumbrance certificate from the concerned office. At that time alone he came to know that the defendant had sold the property to one Veerachami. After that, he gave a complaint before the police regarding the matter of cheating. The police registered a case in Crime No.36 of 2015. In spite of several demands made by the plaintiff to the defendant for repayment of the amount, the defendant has not repaid any amount. Hence, the present suit has been filed for recovery of the amount due under the suit sale agreement executed by the defendant in favour of the plaintiff.

4. The defendant resisted the suit by filing his written statement.

In the written statement, it is stated that originally the defendant borrowed a sum of Rs.6,00,000/- from the plaintiff. For that, he got signature from the defendant in Rs.20/- blank stamp paper. On 06.07.2012, the defendant sold a portion of the property to the plaintiff for Rs.40,00,000/ and only received Rs.34,00,000/-, after adjusting the loan amount of Rs.6,00,000/-. After the said deed, the defendant has not got back the unfilled signed blank stamp paper given at the time of borrowing Rs.6,00,000/-. The plaintiff fraudulently used the same and created the alleged sale agreement/Ex.A1 and it is a forged one. Therefore, he prayed for dismissal of the suit.

5. On the basis of the above pleadings, the learned trial Judge framed the following issues for consideration:

(i) Whether the plaintiff is entitled to get the suit amount from the defendant as sought for in the plaint?

(ii) To what other reliefs the plaintiff is entitled to?

6. In order to substantiate the case, on the side of the plaintiff, three witnesses were examined as P.Ws.1 to 3 and documents were marked as Exs.A1 to A5. On the side of the defendant, one witness was examined as D.W.1 and 10 documents were marked as Ex.B1 to B10.

7. After completing the trial and on hearing of arguments advanced on either side, the learned trial Judge, considered the evidence available on record, allowed the suit. Against which, the defendant has filed the present appeal.

8. The learned counsel appearing for the appellant/defendant would submit that though they entered into an agreement for a sum of Rs. 29,12,000/-, the appellant/defendant has received only a sum of Rs. 5,00,000/- as an advance. Though the respondent/plaintiff pleaded that on the reverse side of the agreement, the appell