2019 Supreme(Online)(KER) 41091
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE P.SOMARAJAN
TUESDAY, THE 11TH DAY OF JUNE 2019 / 21ST JYAISHTA, 1941
RSA.No. 1099 of 2010
AGAINST THE DECREE AND JUDGMENT IN AS 159/2005 of III ADDITIONAL
DISTRICT COURT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM DATED 30-03-2010
AGAINST THE DECREE AND JUDGMENT IN OS 580/1994 of PRINCIPAL SUB
COURT,THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
APPELLANT/APPELLANT/PLAINTIFF:
R.SUKUMARAN, REP. BY HIS WIFE
S.SYAMALA KUMARI,SUSYAM,KOLLAMKONAM,PEYAD.P.O,,
VILAPPIL VILLAGE,THIRUVANANTHAPURAM.
BY ADVS.
SRI.S.RAJASEKHARAN NAIR
SRI.RAJU SEBASTIAN VADAKKEKKARA
RESPONDENT/RESPONDENT/DEFENDANT
SUNIL KESAVA KUMAR, S/O RAMACHANDRAN NAIR
SYAMALALAYAM,PALLICHAL VILLAGE, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM-
695 020.
BY ADVS.
SRI.G.P.SHINOD
SRI.MANU V.
SRI.GOVIND PADMANAABHAN
SRI.RAM MOHAN.G.
THIS REGULAR SECOND APPEAL HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON
11.06.2019, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
R.S.A.No.1099/2010
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This appeal is filed against the decree and
judgment of trial court and the first appellate court
in a suit for setting aside a document of alienation
alleged to have been executed by the plaintiff and
recovery of possession. The said property originally
belonged to the plaintiff. He had executed deed of
conveyance/sale deed in favour of the defendant in the
year 1989 and parted with possession of the property.
The defendant, the predecessor, who is a stranger to
the plaintiff took possession of the property. While
so the present suit was filed by the wife of plaintiff
as next friend of the plaintiff stating that the
plaintiff was not having sufficient mental capacity to
dispose of the property and hence sought to set aside
the document and to recover the property. Both the
trial court and the first appellate court concurrently
rejected the contention of the plaintiff and dismissed
the suit.
2.
In so far as the mental condition of the
original plaintiff, the husband is concerned, the
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factual finding rendered by the courts concurrently
cannot be interfered with unless there is perversity or
illegality in the appreciation of evidence. Needless
to say that if the plaintiff found to be capable of
doing acts, deposition, the suit as framed would not
stand and even the capacity to represent the plaintiff
by his next friend, his own wife, will go. The suit
was filed after the expiry of 4 ½ years from the date
of execution. In order to maintain a suit after the
lapse of 4 ½ years, the plaintiff has to establish that
the original plaintiff, her husband, was incapacitated
due to any mental ailment in disposing of his property
and it was continued till it came to her notice.
3.
In so far as the mental capacity of plaintiff
is concerned, no sufficient enquiry much less any
enquiry was conducted. Ext.A1 is only a medical
certificate issued by an Ayurvedic Doctor. The ailment
is stated as “unmadam” as reffered in Ashtangahridayam.
Nothing was brought to the notice of this court that
“Unmadam” stands for any mental ailment making the
person incapacitated to understand things or to take a
rational judgment. What is relevant is lack of sound
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state of mind and it is heavily upon the plaintiff to
establish that by virtue of the ailment the person was
incapacitated to make any deed of alienation or to deal
with the property. Apart from the certificate issued
by the Ayurvedic doctor and treatment records, nothing
else was brought to the notice of this court to satisfy
any mental ailment to the extent of making him not to
know the legal consequences of his act at the time of
executing Ext.A2 sale deed. Further even in the case
of schizophrenia, the document which was executed
during the lucid interval are valid. The expression
'lucid intervals' stands for the time during which a
person of unsound mind acquires stability of his mental
condition and whatever acts and deeds done would be
valid as if it were done by the person having no
ailment at all. No case of schizophrenia or incurable
mental disorder of such a nature making such person not
to know the consequences of his act either established
or brought up. Hence the concurrent finding rendered
by both the courts below deserves no interference.
None of the questions of law raised at the time of
admission of appeal involved in the appeal. Hence the
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appeal deserves only dismissal, but without costs.
The appeal is dismissed, but without costs.
Sd/-
P.SOMARAJAN
SV
JUDGE