KULWINDER SINGH BHATTI Vs. NASEEB KAUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Defendant No.1/appellant is in regular second appeal against the concurrent findings recorded by the Courts below.

(2.) Plaintiffs filed a suit for mandatory injunction against the appellant (defendant No.1) and others (his family members), claiming that they are excusive owners of property No.E-1, New Beant Nagar, Jalandhar. The exclusive ownership claimed by the plaintiffs was based on four registered sale deeds i.e.

(3.) Upon notice, the defendants appeared and filed written statement and controverted the facts as mentioned in the plaint. It was stated by the defendants that the suit is not maintainable and the plaintiffs have not come to the Court with clean hands and have suppressed the true and material facts from the Court. On merits, it was submitted that plaintiff No.1 was owner to the extent of 10 marlas, out of the total suit property measuring 40 marlas. It has been stated by the defendants that the original owners of the entire suit property of 40 marlas (2 kanals) were Hardayal Singh, Prem Singh and Udham Singh. The entire property was purchased by his father later Major B.S. Bhatti. Out of the total land purchased, the sale deed qua 10 marlas of land was got executed in favour of plaintiff No.1 (mother of defendant No.1) on 16.01.1976. For remaining 30 marlas of land, an unregistered sale deed dated 15.02.1997 was executed in favour of late Major B.S. Bhatti. It has been further pleaded by the defendants that plaintiff No.1 had thereafter gifted her 10 marals of land to her husband late Major B.S. Bhatti vide gift deed dated 05.04.1978. It has been further stated that late Major B.S. Bhatti during his lifetime and in sound disposing mind, had executed a Will dated 15.10.2008 in favour of defendant No.1-Kulwinder Singh Bhatti and on the strength of the said Will, defendant No.1 has become absolute owner in possession of the property in question. The sale deeds executed in favour of plaintiff No.2 were stated to be not binding upon the rights of the defendants and said sale deeds were stated to be sham transactions. Defendant No.1 and defendants No.3 and 4 on their impleadment have specifically pleaded in the written statements that late Major B.S. Bhatti had a benami sale deed dated 15.02.1979 and could not get 30 marlas registered in his favour as the sale deeds were banned in those days and due to his other domestic reasons, he could not get the said 30 marlas registered in his name. Therefore, he was only owner in possession of the property purchased by him. Late Major B.S. Bhatti was originally owner of total 2 kanals of land which he purchased from Hadayal Singh, Prem Singh and Udham Singh and out of which, he got executed the sale deed directly from the vendors in the name of his wife i.e. plaintiff No.1 for the land measuring 10 marlas vide sale deed dated 16.01.1976. For remaining land measuring 30 kanals, an unregistered sale deed dated 15.02.1979 was executed in favour of Major B.S. Bhatti.