SUDESH KUMAR Vs. JAI NARAIN AND ANOTHER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS petition is moved by Sudesh Kumar for punishing Jai Narain and Hart Ram sons of Jeth Ram for contempt of this Court.

(2.) THE facts leading to the filing of the present petition may now be stated. The said Jai Narain and Hari Ram purchased half share in the land measuring 135 kanals and 15 Marlas and the other half was purchased by Jai Narain, Om Parkash and Siri Kishan sons of Bharat Ram in a single sale transaction. The said sale was challenged in a pre -emption suit which was decreed, and an appeal against the judgment and decree of the trial Court at the instance of the said vendees was dismissed by the District Judge, vide his judgment dated 2nd December, 1968. That judgment was challenged by the vendees in this Court through Regular Second Appeal No. 1050 of 1969, Sled on 15th May, 1969. In the meantime, all the abovesaid five vendees sold one third of the said lend to Sudesh Kumar and Sunil Kumar for a sum of Rs. 12,000/ -, vide sale -deed dated 14th April, 1969. The said sale -deed was got registered on 12th May, 1969 and a mutation of sale was sanctioned on 25th April, 1970. Sudesh Kumar and Sunil Kumar on coming to know about the pendency of the said regular second appeal in this Court moved an application under Order 1, rule 10(2), read with section 151, Civil Procedure Code, on 10th November, 1972 for being impleaded as respondents to the said appeal which application was allowed by this Court subject to just exceptions. In the meantime on 2nd February, 1972 the said Jai Narain and Hari Ram and the preemptors -respondents Nos. 5 and 6 moved Civil Miscellaneous application No. 346 -C of 1972 stating therein that the said Jai Narain and Hari Ram sons of Jeth Ram are the owners of the half share in the said land and that they had entered into a compromise with respect to their share with the pre -emptors. In pursuance of the said compromise application, this Court on 3rd February, 1972 after recording the statements of the patties concerned ordered a decree to be drawn up in terms of the compromise arrived at between the parties. In pursuance of the said compromise Jai Narain and Hari Ram sons of Jeth Ram received a sum of Rs. 16,000/ - from the pre -emptors as the price of their share and Rs. 1,600/ - as the price of the stamps and registration charges of the sale -deed.

(3.) THE two respondents in question put in their written statement in reply to the contempt petition. The allegation regarding sale of one -third of the land, subject matter of dispute in R. S. A. No. 1050 of 1969 in favour of Sudesh Kumar and Sunil Kumar, was admitted. However, the respondents pleaded that by virtue of the said sale transaction the vendees got no title in the land as the sale in their favour was without any monetary consideration the understanding being (though not expressly spelled out in the sale -dead) that their father would help secure the possession of the entire land from the vendors to the vendees which they otherwise had been unable to get. It was further averred that since Sudesh Kumar, etc. and their father, who was an A.S.I. in the police, failed to secure to the vendees (Jai Narain etc) the possession of any portion of the land from the vendors and thus fulfill the condition precedent for their becoming owners of the land purchased by them, so the respondent continued to be the owners of their share of the land. Thus in describing themselves in the compromise application dated 2nd February, 1972 as the owners of half of the suit land, and entitled to enter into a compromise with the pre -empters they made no false averments and consequently committed no contempt of this Court