SRIHARI HANUMANDAS TOTALA Vs. HEMANT VITHAL KAMAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) This appeal arises from a judgment dated 18 January 2021 of a Single Judge at the Dharwad Bench of the High Court of Karnataka. The revisional jurisdiction of the High Court under Section 115 of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 ("CPC") was invoked for challenging an order dated 1 July 2019 of the IInd Additional Senior Civil Judge and Chief Judicial Magistrate, Belgaum on an application[1] under Order 7 Rule 11 of the CPC.

(3.) Ms. Leela Vithal Kamat was the title holder of the suit property. On her death on 16 May 1996, the property was mutated in the names of her legal heirs - the first respondent and his brother. The first respondent and his brother took a loan from the Karnataka State Finance Corporation ("KSFC") and mortgaged the suit property as security for repayment of the loan. Since the loan was not repaid, KSFC auctioned the property. The third respondent, who is the predecessor-in-interest of the appellant, furnished the highest bid of Rs. 15,00,000. A sale deed of the suit property was executed in favour of the third respondent on 8 August 2006. Despite the execution of the sale deed, the first respondent and his brother failed to hand over the possession of the suit property and as a consequence a suit for possession was filed by the third respondent on 13 March 2007. On 20 December 2007, the first respondent, who was impleaded as the second defendant to the suit filed his written statement raising inter alia the following defences: