(SAIYAD) ABDULLAH Vs. AHMAD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a plaintiff's appeal and arises out of a suit for specific performance of a contract of sale, and for a declaration that the sale-deed dated 12 January 1225 executed by defendant 1 in favour of defendants 2 and 3 is null and void as against the plaintiff.

(2.) The plaintiff's case was that defendant 1 contracted to sell his 1 anna 7 ganda and odd share in mauza Dharamsipur to the plaintiff for a sum of Rs. 1,925, and, on receipt of Rs. 99 by way of earnest money, on 26 December 1924, executed an agreement embodying the terms of the contract and promised to execute the sale-deed on 5 January 1925, but notwithstanding the said contract defendant 1 sold 17 gandas share to defendants 2 and 3 for a sum of Rs. 2,700 on 12th January 1925.

(3.) The suit was contested by all the defendants. The case put forward by the defendants was that, prior to the agreement alleged by the plaintiff, defendant 1 had on 17 November 1924 agreed to sell his 1 anna 7 ganda and odd share to defendants 2 and 3, and that the plaintiff had knowledge of the said agreement. The defendants alleged that the sale of 12 January 1925 was in pursuance of the agreement dated 17 November 1924, that was prior in date to the agreement alleged by the plaintiff, and, as such, the plaintiff was not competent to assail the validity of the sale-deed in favour of defendants 2 and 3. Defendant 1 also pleaded that the plaintiff had induced defendant 1 to enter into the contract of sale by the exercise of fraud and as such the plaintiff is not entitled to a decree even with respect to the 10 gandas share that remained with defendant 1 and was not included in the sala-deed executed by him in favour of defendants 2 and 3.