BHAJAN SINGH Vs. JATINDER SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Briefly stated, facts of the case are that plaintiff Jatinder Singh son of Sh.Sital Singh, resident of Mohalla Kesgarh, Anandpur Sahib had brought a suit against defendants Bhajan Singh, Fateh Singh, Sohan Singh - sons and Smt.Ajit Kaur alias Jeeto - daughter of Santa Singh, seeking possession as owner by way of specific performance of agreement to sell dated 26.4.1993 regarding the land measuring 4 kanals 10 marlas being 90/260 share out of land measuring 13 kanals bearing khewat No.171, khatauni No.200, khasra numbers 26/R/16 (6-10), 25/1(3-4), 30(0-4), 27R/20/3(2-4), 21/1(0-18) as per jamabandi for the year 1991-92 with consequential relief of permanent injunction restraining the defendants from alienating the suit land and from creating the charge of any kind over it.

(2.) As per the version of the plaintiff, the deceased mother of the defendants, namely, Smt.Har Kaur being owner of the suit land had entered into an agreement to sell the same with him on 26.4.1993 for a sum of Rs.27,000/-, receiving the said amount at the time of agreement; the stipulated date for execution and registration of sale deed was fixed as 30.11.1994; Smt.Har Kaur had expired on 20.8.1994 and her estate was inherited by the defendants, who are her class first heirs; the plaintiff has always been ready and willing to perform his part of contract; the defendants did not come forward to execute the sale deed in favour of the plaintiff and to get it registered, rather they threatened to alienate the suit land and create charge over it . According to the plaintiff, he had served a notice dated 1.9.1994 upon the defendants but defendants did not reply to the same. Finally, the plaintiff brought the suit in question.

(3.) On getting notice, the defendants appeared and filed a joint written statement contesting the suit denying the averments in the plaint, rather contending that Smt.Har Kaur remained the joint owner in possession of the suit land along with her other land and on her death her entire property including the suit land has been inherited by the defendants in equal shares on the basis of natural succession and mutation No.1024 in that regard has since been sanctioned in their favour; the suit property is Chahi and is located in village Mazari, which is presently within the limits of Municipal Committee, Anandpur Sahib; the suit land adjoins the ancestral abadi land bearing khasra No.29(1-5) and is in the vicinity of S.D. High School; the bus stand of Anandpur Sahib and Civil Hospital are also located nearby, therefore the market value of the property is Rs.3,000/- per marla; that Smt.Har Kaur was not in need of money and as such there was no necessity for her to sell the suit property and the agreement to sell set up by the plaintiff is not genuine; as a matter of fact the plaintiff was acquainted with the Smt.Har Kaur having his land just near the suit land, so Smt.Har Kaur being an illiterate rural and old aged lady reposed confidence in the plaintiff; apart from that Smt.Har Kaur was a Parda Nashin lady and she had no independent advice at the time of alleged execution of the agreement and the plaintiff might have obtained her thumb impressions on blank papers and then converted the same into agreement; the agreement is invalid, unnatural and without any consideration and the same was not result of free mind of Smt.Har Kaur; as a matter of fact Smt.Har Kaur had grown mentally and physically weak and she was not having good eye-sight; she was hard of hearing also; she had not disclosed to the defendants that she had entered into an agreement with the plaintiff; she could not have sold the property in the suit at a nominal value of Rs.27,000/- to the plaintiff when the market value of the land is Rs.3,000/- per marla; the recital in the agreement regarding delivery of possession were wrong, false and baseless; the defendants had got every right to deal with the suit property. In the end, the defendants prayed for dismissal of the suit.