BHAGU GOVINDA PATEL Vs. NARAYAN TUKARAM SURVASHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The plaintiff sued to recover possession of the plaint property alleging that it belonged to one Dadu Govinda who took Rs. 500 from the plaintiff and sold it to him on June 12, 1920. Plaintiff alleged that he got possession according to the terms of the deed, but defendant thereafter wrongfully deprived him of possession. With regard to possession both Courts have found that the plaintiff could not get possession although he got a sale-deed in his favour. Being out of possession then he must rely upon the title which he set up under his sale-deed.

(2.) Now Dadu Govinda did not execute the sale deed himself. At that time he had been found guilty of the offence of murder and had been sentenced to death. In order to raise money to enable him to appeal against the sentence of death to the High Court, he, while in Satara jail, gave a power of attorney to his mother to sell his property. That power of attorney was cancelled and he gave a fresh power of attorney to one Tukaram while he was in Yeravda jail. This power authorized Tukaram to sell the plaint land, if required. Accordingly, Tukaram sold the land to plaintiff for Rs. 500. Eventually the sentence of death was commuted by the High Court to transportation for life.

(3.) The defendant, the mother of the convict, challenges the sale-deed as being invalid under Secs.57 and 63A of the Dekkhan Agriculturists Relief Act. It does not appear that Section 57 has any application but under Section 63A: When an agriculturist intends to execute any instrument required by Section 17 of the Indian Registration Act, 1877, (it should now be 1908) to be registered under that Act, he shall appear before the Sub-Registrar within whose sub-district the whole or some portion of the property to which the instrument is to relate is situate, and the Sub-Registrar shall write the instrument, or cause it to be written and require it to be executed, and fittest it and, if the executant is unable to read the instrument, cause it to be further attested, and otherwise act in accordance with the procedure prescribed for a Village-Registrar by Section 57 and 59 of this Act, and shall then register the instrument in accordance with the provisions of the Indian Registration Act. 1877.