ANANT RAI Vs. BHAGWAN RAI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal by defendant vendees in a pre-emption suit. The plaintiff respondent has also assailed the decree of the Court below by a cross-appeal which has been numbered as First Appeal No. 327 of 1935. The dispute in both the appeals is about the consideration of the sale sought to be pre-empted. The sale sought to be pre-empted was effected on 22 July, 1933 by Kailashpati Rai, defendant 3, in favour of Anant Rai and Trilok Rai, defendants 1 and 2. The property sold was an area of 24 bighas, 1 biswas, 4 dhurs in patti Mukhraj Rai, mohal Debi Rai of village Pipra Kalan in the district of Ballia. Village Pipra Kalan is a bigha daham village. The revenue of the property sold was Rs. 17-6-0 and the consideration entered in the sale deed was Rs. 13,000. This sale consideration was made up of the following items:

(2.) There was no dispute in the Court below as regards items 2, 3 and 6 of the consideration noted above and the genuineness of the remaining items of consideration was impugned by the plaintiff in that Court. The Court below has held that the sum of Rs. 250 (items 5) was paid to the vendor before registration, and this finding of the Court below has not been assailed before us. The dispute in the two appeals is now confined as to item 1 and item 4 of the sale consideration.

(3.) The mortgage deed dated 4 January 1929 (item l) was for a sum of Rs. 2300 out of which Rs. 2088 were paid before the Sub-Registrar and Rs. 212 were credited towards two previous sarkhats executed by Kailashpati in favour of the vendees. The sum of Rs. 6000 entered as item 1 was due on account of principal and interest of the said mortgage. The plaintiff's case was that the real consideration of the mortgage was only Rs. 300 and that on the date of the sale sought to be pre-empted the amount due on the basis of that mortgage was only Rs. 400. This case of the plaintiff failed in the Court below and that Court held that the mortgage deed dated 4 January 1929 was for a consideration of Rs. 2300 and that a sum of Rs. 6000 was due to the vendees on the basis of that mortgage on the date of the sale. This finding of the Court below has not been assailed in appeal before us.