SARDHA RAM Vs. NAKLI SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Nawal Singh sold 102 bighas of land to Nathu Ram for Rs. 8000/- by a sale dated 1lth February, 1952. He also executed a sale-deed in respect of 90 bighas of land to Sardha Ram for a sum of Rs. 4,500/- on 28th October, 1952. There were recitals in the two sale-deeds regarding the necessity for the sale. The first sale-deed stated:

(2.) Nawal Singh's heirs filed suits for setting aside the sales on the ground that they were governed by Punjab Agricultural customs in matters of alienation, that the land was ancestral and that the alienation had been made without legal necessity and, therefore, would not affect their reversionary rights on the death of the vendor. Both suits were consolidated and tried together.

(3.) The suits were dismissed by the sub-judge and the first appeals were dismissed by the senior subordinate judge. Second appeals were preferred which came up for hearing before a learned Single Judge of the High Court. The learned Judge held that the sale in favour of Nathu Ram was without legal necessity except to the extent of a sum of Rs. 1,000/-- which was actually utilised by the vendor for the sinking of a new well in his remaining lands', and that the sale in favour of Sardha Ram was entirely without necessity. There were appeals against the order of the learned single Judge to a Division Bench of the same High Court. The Division Bench held that, so far as the sale in favour of Nathu Ram was concerned, the learned single Judge had fallen into an error in upsetting the concurrent findings of fact of the Courts below. The Court proceeded to observe:-