SURINDER PAL KAPOOR Vs. SWARAN KATYAL AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Late Sh.Ram Sahai Kapoor and his wife Late Smt.Satyawati Kapoor were blessed with seven children. Two sons and five daughters. The appellant Surinder Pal Kapoor and respondent No.2, Sh.Jogender Pal Kapoor are the two sons. Respondents No.1 and 3 to 6; Swaran Katyal, Rama Maini, Nisha Malhotra, Rashmi Sabharwal and Sushma Dheer are the sisters.

(2.) Swaran Katyal along with her two sisters Rama Maini and Nisha Malhotra as also her brother Jogender Pal filed a suit, impleading the appellant, Surinder Pal Kapoor, Rashmi Sabharwal and Sushma Dheer as defendants No.1, 2 and 3 respectively. It was pleaded in the plaint that Late Sh.Ram Sahai Kapoor was the owner of property bearing No.A-5, CC Colony, Opposite Rana Pratap Bagh Delhi, having purchased the same by a registered sale-deed dated June 06, 1967. It then comprised a basement and a ground floor on the plot of land ad-measuring 321.25 square yards. By virtue of a decree dated February 26, 1974 passed in suit No.26/1974 the learned Sub-Judge First Class, Jalandhar declared Satyawati as the owner of the rear portion of the property and on the death of Ram Sahai on November 17, 1979, the seven children relinquished their interest which they would have inherited from their father, vide relinquishment deed dated March 28, 1980 in favour of their mother, Late Satyawati Kapoor who thereafter became the owner of the entire property and for purpose of payment of house tax her name was mutated in the municipal records on October 29, 1980 as the person primarily liable to pay property tax levied on the property. Highlighting that without pleading the specific date or the year when further construction was made above the existing basement and ground floor, which as per the plaint existed when the father purchased the property, it was pleaded that on April 24, 1990, Satyawati sold front portion of the first floor of the property having covered area of approximately 1170 square feet in favour of Swaran Katyal for a consideration of Rs. 65,000/- (Rupees Sixty Five Thousand only) and that the sale-deed was registered.

(3.) The appellant was the contesting party because he alone filed a written statement. He denied that the sale-deed dated August 12, 1998 was obtained by him by manipulating his mother. He challenged the sale-deed dated April 24, 1990 under which Swaran Katyal claimed that her mother had sold the front portion of the first floor to her; but we need to highlight that the appellant did not plead any fact from which the saledeed could be challenged.