VISHVANATHBHAT ANNABHAT PUJARI Vs. MALLAPPA NINGAPPA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal from the decision of the Assistant Judge of Dharwar, who, reversing the decree of the Trial Court, dismissed the plaintiff's suit with costs throughout. The suit was one to recover possession of the plaint land with costs and future mesne profits, on the ground that the plaint land belonged to the plaintiff. His mother during his minority purporting to act as his guardian had sold the land to one Mngappa, the deceased father of defendants, on August 2, 1905. The sale was sought to be set aside on three grounds: (1) that the sale-deed was a fraud on registration; (2) that the sale was not for the benefit of the plaintiff; and (3) that the sale was of the nature of a mortgage and the amount of consideration had already been paid off from the profits of the land.

(2.) The fraud on registration set up by the plaintiff is based on the fact that only a portion of the land in the sale-deed was within the jurisdiction of the Sub Registrar of Navalgund, who registered the sale-deed, and it is alleged that that land was inserted in the deed merely for the purpose of giving jurisdiction to the Sub- Registrar, the intention of the [parties being that it should. be re-conveyed to the vendor. The Judge in the Trial Court said: The circumstances in which the two sale-deeds seem to have been passed lend support to the allegation that the insertion of the plot of ground in the sale-deed, now in suit was merely with a view to give jurisdiction to the Sub-Registrar of Navalgund to register the deed. Besides Chidambarbhat, who is examined by the defendants, swears that the object of the insertion of the plot in the deed was merely to give jurisdiction to the Sub-Registrar of Navalgund, and that the parties to the sale-deed in suit had no intention to alienate the said plot by the deed, and that the sale to him by Ningappa of the plot was benami for Bhagirthibai.

(3.) Exhibit 84 is the deed which transferred the plot to Chidambarbhat, the benamidar for plaintiff's mother.