ANITA CHANDEL Vs. ZARINA KHATOON

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HAVING heard learned counsel for the defendants/appellants as well as learned counsel for the caveator/plaintiffs -respondents, it transpires that the plaint was rejected under Order 7 Rule 11 CPC by the learned Civil Judge (Senior Division), Dehradun on 3rd July 2014 basically on the finding that since the land, in question, was agricultural in nature, so suit was barred under Section 331 of the U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act. The land pertains to Khasra No. 269 ad measuring 0.86 acre in Village Kedarpur, Pargana Parvadun, Tehsil and District Dehradun.

(2.) THIS land was owned by two brothers, Kutubuddin and Karimuddin. Both were the joint owners of the same. Mr. Kutubuddin executed his sale deed on 20th March, 1967 to one Sri Ranjeet Singh, who, in turn, executed the sale deed of the same land to Sri Bacchan Lal on 2nd April, 1973. Sri Bacchan Lal transferred the land, in question, by way of executing two sale deeds dated 14.10.1988 and 31.05.1991 to Smt. Anita Chandel and Sri Sagar Chandel, who are the present defendants/appellants before this Court.

(3.) THE suit was mainly for the cancellation of the sale deed dated 20th March, 1967 and also for the subsequent sale deeds, as aforestated on the premise that Kutubuddin, at best, could have executed the sale deed only in respect of half of the land ad measuring 0.43 acre, and not the entire land ad measuring 0.86 acre, and there is a fraud committed by purchaser Ranjeet Singh by getting the sale deed drafted in English language, taking the advantage of the illiteracy of Kutubuddin. So, in the sale deed, the entire land of 0.86 acre was fraudulently managed to be mentioned keeping Mr. Kutubuddin in oblivion. This is evident from the copy of Khatauni of 1372 Fasli (1980 AD) showing the mutation in the name of Ranjeet Singh only for the area of 0.43 acre, and for rest of the land the name of its original owner remained continued to be recorded even in the Khatauni of 1383 to 1385 Fasli and then further to 1389 Fasli, i.e. from 1991 to 1997 AD and still further in the Khatauni from 1391 to 1396 Fasli. The certified copies of these Khataunis have been shown by the learned counsel for the caveator while resisting the appeal on the question of the admission (Photocopies of the same be kept on the record). Had there been truthfulness or genuineness in the execution of the sale deed for the entire area of 0.86 acre, then there was no question of continuance of the name of its earlier owners in the Khataunis up till 1396 Fasli. The certified copy of Khataunis of 1391 to 1396 Fasli shows that after deletion of name of Sri Ranjeet Singh, the name of Sri Bachhan Lal was mutated for the entire area of 0.86 acre.