LIMBAJI RAVJI HAJARE Vs. RAHI RAVJI HAJARE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The plaintiff filed this suit to recover possession of the plaint land which had belonged to his father, and had been mortgaged by him to one Tatya Dada. On his father's death the plaintiff, then a minor came under the protection of his step- mother. She redeemed the mortgage and sold the land to the father of "defendants Nos. 2 and 3 who in his turn sold it to defendant No. 4. Plaintiff claimed that his step-mother had no authority to dispose of his property.

(2.) Defendant No. 4, who alone contested the suit, pleaded that the step-mother was the guardian of the plaintiff during the minority, that the lands were sold for legal necessity to pay off the mortgage and provide for the marriage expenses of the plaintiff, and consequently the sale was binding on the plaintiff. If it was held to be not binding, the defendant should be awarded Rs. 800 the consideration for the sale deed and Rs. 100 spent by him on improvements. The Trial Judge held that the step-mother was not the natural guardian of the minor that the sale-deed was effected for legal necessity that Rs. 100 had not been spent on improvement that the suit was in time, and on those findings dismissed the suit with costs. In appeal the only issue argued was whether the sale was for the minor's benefit. The District Judge found the issue in the affirmative and dismissed the appeal with costs. We are of opinion that as the sale was by an unauthorised person the plaintiff was entitled to have it set aside.

(3.) The issue whether the sale was for legal necessity was irrelevant. But then the question arises whether the plaintiff should recover the property without restoring to the present purchaser the benefit which had accrued to him by the sale effected by his step-mother.