JAGAT SINGH Vs. JAI DEV

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ON 16th of June, 1962, Radha Krishan sold land measuring 61 Kanals 5 Marias, out of which 61 Kanals was situate in district Jullundur and the balance of 5 Marlas in district Hissar, in favour of Jagat Singh for Rs. 17,000/ - on the 14th of June 1963, Jai Dev filed a suit for preemption on the ground that he was the son of the vendor and had thus a preferential right of purchasing the said land. According to him, however, only Rs. 14,000/ - had actually been paid by the vendee for this land. The suit was resisted by the vendee on a number of grounds, but in the present appeal, we are only concerned with two of them. His case was that the suit was collusive and Benami and was liable to be dismissed on that ground. Harbans Singh of village Chataru, district, Jullundur had got it filed for his own benefit and at his own expense. It had been agreed amongst the said Harbans Singh, the vendor, and the plaintiff that in case the suit was decreed, the land would be sold in favour of Harbans Singh, it was also pleaded by him that even if the plaintiff was found to be the son of the vendor, he could not file the present suit, because he constituted a Joint Hindu family with his father and the land in dispute had been sold by the father as the manager of the Joint Hindu family for rivaled consideration and for the benefit of the Joint Hindu family.

(2.) ON the pleadings of the parties a number of issues were framed. Issue 8 -A, the finding on which is being contested here, was "whether the suit is collusive and Benami as alleged". No specific issue was, however, framed on the other plea of the defendant mentioned above.

(3.) LEARNED Counsel for the appellant, in the first instance, contended that the plaintiff's suit should have been dismissed on the short ground that he, being a member of the joint Hindu family constituted by him with his father, could not pre -empt the sale in dispute which had been effected by the father as the manager of the joint Hindu family. The land, which was the subject of the sale, was the joint Hindu family property and the said sale had been effected for the benefit of the family.