SAHDEO KARAN SINGH Vs. USMAN ALI KHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) First Appeal No. 175 of 1935 is a defendants appeal from a decree of the learned Subordinate Judge of Gaya decreeing the plaintiff-respondent's claim for a declaration that he was the owner of certain property. Miscellaneous Appeal No. 16 of 1938 is an appeal by the plaintiff against an order of the Court below awarding him certain mesne profits. The plaintiff being dissatisfied with the amount of mesne profits awarded has asked this Court to grant him a further amount. The suit out of which this appeal arises was brought by the plaintiff against defendants 1 and 2 who are respondents in the appeal and defendants 3 to 17 who are the appellants in the appeal. The plaintiff is a minor and is the son of defendants 1 and 2. Defendants appellants are purchasers of the property in question in an execution sale.

(2.) The facts of the case can be shortly stated as follows: The property in dispute consists of a 1 anna 12 dams odd share in village Jawania and 53.78 acres bakasht land in village Singhpore. These two properties originally belonged to Mt. Alimunnissa. Defendants 1 and 2 had carried on litigation with Mt. Alimunnissa which had ended in their favour in this Court. The result of such litigation was that defendants 1 and 2 held a decree for costs against Mt. Alimunnissa for a sum of Rs. 1500 odd. In due course defendants 1 and 2 proceeded to execute this decree and the properties now in dispute were attached.

(3.) On 26 July 1926, Mt. Alimunnissa executed a sale deed of the properties in dispute in favour of the plaintiff who was then five or six years of age. By the terms of, that deed Mt. Alimunnissa sold the property for a sum of Rs. 2201-9-3. No part of the consideration money was paid because it was arranged that defendants 1 and 2 would give Mt. Alimunnissa a complete discharge in respect of the decree for costs which they held against her amounting to Rs. 1576.9-3 and further defendants 1 and 2 undertook to pay off a mortgage upon this property held by one Wajid Khan amounting to a sum of Rs. 625. In this manner the whole consideration of Rs. 2201-9-3 was accounted for. After the sale deed was executed defendant 1 did pay off the mortgagee and further it is clear that mutation was obtained in the name of the minor plaintiff. It also appears that for some considerable time defendant 1 managed the property and gave receipts in the name of his minor son. Later, it will be seen that defendant 1 also dealt with this property as his own and executed a number of mortgages in which he describes this property as having been purchased benami in the name of his son.