PURAN CHAND NAHATTA Vs. MANMOTHO NATH MUKHERJEE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal arises in a vendor's suit for specific performance of a contract, dated February 20, 1920, for the sale of a house, No. 13, Marsdoii Street, Calcutta, The appellant defended the suit on the ground that he could not be required to accept the title offered to him, because (a) the house was included in an outstanding and enforceable mortgage, dated March 27, 1380, which constituted a blot on the title, and (6) because, partly by reason of the vendors failure to produce a certain power of attorney, which ought to have been produced, and partly because the person, who appeared before the Registrar to acknowledge the execution of the conveyance with which the vendors title began, did not satisfy the requirements of the Registration Act, the title offered was incomplete. Ghose J. upheld his objection, but his jadgment was reversed by the High Court of Calcutta on appeal.

(2.) The facts are these. On April 29, 1853, Hari Mohon Sircar executed a family deed of trust of sundry properties, which included the house in question. In 1879 his grandson, Brojo Nath Sircar, was a trustee. On May 19, 1879, a suit was brought against the trustees for the construction of this deed, for the ascertainment of the respective rights of the parties interested There under, and for directions as to the administration of the trust.

(3.) By a decree dated August 31, 1885, it was declared inter alia the Radha Nath Sircar, another grandson and one of the beneficiaries, was entitled to a one-sixth share of the surplus income of properties which included No. 13, Marsden Street, and after other declarations and directions it was ordered that the trustees should retain their costs of suit out of the trust properties, Thereupon, and while further proceedings in the suit were still pending, Radha Nath Sircar mortgaged his one- sixth share on March 27, 1886. This is the outstanding mortgage in question. On March 10, 1887, a further order was made in the suit for sale of No. 13, Marsden Street and other properties, in order to raise the money for payment of the trustees costs payable under the decree of August 31, 1885. The sale was duly held and the house was bought by the father of the present respondents, the vendors to the appellant. Pursuant to the order of the Court the trustees, Upendra Nath Bose and Brojo Nath Sircar, executed a conveyance accordingly on September 2, 1890, which was registered on May 2, 1891. For some reason the conveyance was tsigiied on behalf of Brojo Natli Sircar by Joy Krishna Bose, purporting to act under a power of attorney dated June 20, 1889. This is the document which is not forthcoming. When the conveyance came to be registered, Brojo Nath Sircar again acted by an attorney, not Joy Krishna Bose, but another person. The objection taken is that only Joy Krishna Bose, the person whose hand signed the conveyance, could appear as one of the persons executing it so as to make the registration valid, and that the appearance and admission by the second attorney, or, indeed, of Brojo Nath Sircar himself, would not suffice for a valid admission of execution of the conveyance before the Registrar. Accordingly, under the Indian Registration Act, 1877, Secs.34 and 35 and other sections, the conveyance was not validly registered. It is evident that, if the execution of the conveyance on the part of Brojo Nath Sircar was validly acknowledged before the Registrar, the non-production of the power of attorney held by Joy Krishna Bose is immaterial, since the admission of Brojo Nath Sircar that he was bound by the deed, as executed, would cover both the signature and the power of attorney to sign.