Basavaraj & Narayanappa
Basavaraj & Narayanappa
1 of 2009
DATED : 08.03.2023
CORAM
Basavaraj ...Appellant
Vs.
1. Narayanappa
2. Nethappa ... Respondents
Prayer : Second Appeal filed under Section 100 CPC, 1908 against the
decree and judgment dated 11.06.2009 passed in A.S. No.6 of 2008, on
the file of the Principal District Judge, Krishnagiri, reversing the decree
and judgment dated 06.12.2007 passed in O.S. No.74 of 2005, on the file
of the Subordinate Judge, Hosur.
For Appellant : Ms.V. Srimathi
For Respondents : Mr. P. Mani.
JUDGMENT
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S.A.No.1204 of 2009 & M.P. No.1 of 2009
per their ranking in the trial court and at appropriate places, their rank in
Registrar Office.
date of sale agreement. It was agreed between the parties that the
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S.A.No.1204 of 2009 & M.P. No.1 of 2009
grounds:
sale.
iii. The plaintiff paid only a sum of Rs.50,000/- to the defendants and
the defendants to sell the suit property in favour of the plaintiff and
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S.A.No.1204 of 2009 & M.P. No.1 of 2009
ii. Whether the contention of the defendants that the sale agreement
iii. Whether the contention of the defendants that the sale agreement
his side.
on both sides the trial Court decreed the suit in favour of the plaintiff vide
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S.A.No.1204 of 2009 & M.P. No.1 of 2009
i. The sale agreement was executed and registered for a total sale
ii. The guideline value of the suit property was Rs.50,000/- per acre
iii. The defendants have not sent a legal notice to the plaintiff to repay
Judge, Krishnagiri allowed the appeal and set aside the decree and
judgment passed by the trial Court vide his decree and judgment dated
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S.A.No.1204 of 2009 & M.P. No.1 of 2009
the said sum works out to Rs.54,000/- (@ 3% per month for three
ii. It is difficult to accept that the plaintiff who paid 94.5% of the sale
iii. The suit for specific performance is a discretionary relief and the
clearly would go to show that the plaintiff has not approached the
Court with clean hands and the plaintiff being a money lender had
created the sale agreement only for the purpose of loan amount
iv. Both the courts below held that the defendants have saleable
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S.A.No.1204 of 2009 & M.P. No.1 of 2009
iii. Whether the defendants are not estopped by record and conduct
that the nature of transaction was only that of a sale agreement and not a
loan transaction and the onus of proof heavily lies on the respondents
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S.A.No.1204 of 2009 & M.P. No.1 of 2009
who had contended that there was only a loan transaction between them
and the plaintiff and that in the instant case the defendants have not
in 2009 (6) CTC 301 in support of her contentions. She also relied on
SCC 139 and contended that conjoint reading of Sections 92 & 95 of the
Indian Evidence Act would go to show that it is only in cases where the
terms of the document leave the question in doubt, then resort could be
had to the proviso to Section 92. She further contended that in the instant
difficulty in construing it, the proviso to Section 92 would not apply and
Evidence Act, it would enlarge the ambit of proviso (6) beyond the main
section itself. She would further contend that the plaintiff has paid the
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S.A.No.1204 of 2009 & M.P. No.1 of 2009
without taking into account Section 92 of the Indian Evidence Act had
held that the suit transaction was only a loan transaction and there was
favour of the plaintiff merely on the ground that the plaintiff admitted that
appeal.
CTC 100
CTC 225.
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S.A.No.1204 of 2009 & M.P. No.1 of 2009
Mallika).
i. Having regard to the sale consideration fixed, the advance paid and
time fixed for payment of balance sale consideration, one can easily
infer that Ex.A1 could not have been intended to be acted upon as
agreement of sale.
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S.A.No.1204 of 2009 & M.P. No.1 of 2009
to get the sale deed executed in his favour, more particularly, when
iv. Right to pay the balance amount and claim for execution of sale
deed does not arise for the plaintiff at the eleventh hour of the
third year and in the instant case the plaintiff has filed the suit at
v. The plaintiff should have shown that the right to get the sale deed
of the agreement and the plaintiff should plead and prove his
readiness and willingness right from the date of agreement till the
or in the plaint as to why 3 years time limit was fixed for execution
of the sale deed and such a long delay indicates that there is no
vi. The trial court had erred in relying on the vague evidence of the
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S.A.No.1204 of 2009 & M.P. No.1 of 2009
Act. Therefore, the first appellate court was right in setting aside
12.1. The learned counsel for the defendants also relied on the
decision of this court in A.S. 293 of 2011 dated 22.12.2022, wherein this
The Hon'ble Supreme Court and this Court has time and
again recognized the legal position that a party to the
contract is entitled to raise a plea which would invalidate
the contract as a whole. In other words, the plea of
misrepresentation, fraud or sham and nominal transaction
are permissible and Section 92 of Evidence Act has no
application. The Hon'ble Supreme Court, in the case of
Gangabai v. Chhabubai reported in AIR 1982 SC Page
20, after referring to Section 92(1) of Evidence Act, has
held that it is permissible to a party to a deed to contend
that the deed was not intended to be acted upon but was
only a sham document. It is further observed that the bar
arises only when the document is relied upon and its terms
are sought to be varied and contradicted. Several
judgments of the Hon'ble Supreme Court were considered
by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the said judgment and
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S.A.No.1204 of 2009 & M.P. No.1 of 2009
another vs. Siddamsetty Infra Projects Pvt. Ltd. reported in 2023 (1)
MWN (civil) 65 in which the Apex Court held that the amended Section
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S.A.No.1204 of 2009 & M.P. No.1 of 2009
which Rs.1,04,000/- was paid by the plaintiff on the date of the sale
registered sale agreement was made, it was not intended to be acted upon.
for which an exorbitant rate of interest @ 36% per annum was charged
by the plaintiff and the advance amount was indicated in the sale
agreement as Rs.1,04,000/-
Rs.6,000/- for getting the sale deed executed in his name. This was taken
into account by the first appellate court and held that the sale agreement
was created only for the purpose of loan transaction between the plaintiff
and the defendants. The first appellate court had also calculated the
3% per month for three years) and held that if the principal amount and
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the interest amount are added it would come to Rs.1,04,000/- and this
appellant is that when the execution of the sale agreement and the terms
of the contract had not been denied by the defendants, they cannot now
contend that Ex.A1 was created for some other purpose as it is hit by
the party to the deed can be permitted to contend that the deed was not
intended to be acted upon but was only a sham and nominal document
and that the bar arises only when the document is relied upon and the
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S.A.No.1204 of 2009 & M.P. No.1 of 2009
he fixed three years period for the payment of balance sale consideration
of just Rs.6,000/-. The plaintiff nowhere in the plaint has explained the
reasons for the same. Though the learned counsel for the appellant relied
money to pay the balance sale consideration and get the sale deed
executed in his name, the real issue involved in the instant case is whether
the parties executed the sale agreement only for the purpose of executing
though the plaintiff had stated that he approached the defendants to pay
defendants evaded, the plaintiff has not specified any date of the alleged
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S.A.No.1204 of 2009 & M.P. No.1 of 2009
approach made by him for getting the sale deed executed in his favour.
The fact that the agreement is registered gives an indication that special
perform his part of the contract, it is not only necessary to view whether
he had financial capacity to pay the balance sale consideration but also
assess his conduct throughout the transaction. It is settled law that the
plaintiff must prove that he was always ready and willing to perform his
part of the contract and in this regard, the burden of proof heavily lies on
the plaintiff. In the instant case, admittedly the plaintiff did not issue even
defendants evaded him. The suit was filed just few days before the expiry
of the period of limitation of three years and that too without issuing any
notice to the defendants. It is settled principles of law that the Court while
Siddamsetty Infra Projects Pvt. Ltd. (cited supra) the full bench of the
Hon'ble Supreme Court held that the amendment carried out in 2018 in
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S.A.No.1204 of 2009 & M.P. No.1 of 2009
the Specific Relief Act was not a mere procedural enactment, rather it had
substantive principles built into its working and such amendments would
apply only prospectively and not retrospectively. The sale agreement was
learned counsel for the appellant that after the amendment of Section 10
of the Specific Relief Act, the Courts are obliged to enforce the specific
Section 11, Section 14 & Section 16 of the Specific Relief Act cannot be
accepted.
18. The trial Court merely based on the guideline value had
come to the conclusion that the sale consideration had been properly fixed
in the agreement of sale. It is settled that the guideline value and market
the plaintiff to show that the actual market value of the suit property at
the relevant point of time was Rs.1,06,000/-. Merely because the sale
agreement is registered and the defendants did not deny their signatures
on the sale agreement, it cannot be simply held that the parties intended
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S.A.No.1204 of 2009 & M.P. No.1 of 2009
gap of three years for payment of just Rs.6,000/- from the date of the sale
advance amount in the sale agreement and non issuance of notice by the
perform his part of the contract are all the factors which go against the
and Another (cited supra), relied upon by the counsel for the appellant,
the time for performance of contract was fixed as six months and before
the expiry of six months the plaintiff issued a notice calling upon the
defendants to execute the sale deed in his favour after receiving balance
said decision would not apply to the present case. Similarly, the decision
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S.A.No.1204 of 2009 & M.P. No.1 of 2009
would not apply to the facts of the present case. A conjoint reading of
Section 92 and 95 of the Indian Evidence Act makes the point clear that
transaction, yet the parties are at liberty to plead and prove that such a
observed, the reason for fixing up a long gap of three years for the
notice by the plaintiff to show his readiness and willingness and also the
absence of plea in the plaint in this regard are the factors which have to
was created only for the purpose of repayment of loan amount obtained
by them from the plaintiff. Moreover, the sale agreement is of the year
2002. More than two decades have passed and the value of the property
proper for the Courts to exercise its discretionary power to grant the
had analysed the entire evidence on record and had observed as follows :
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S.A.No.1204 of 2009 & M.P. No.1 of 2009
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S.A.No.1204 of 2009 & M.P. No.1 of 2009
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I do not find any infirmity in the above observations of the first appellate
ii. the decree and judgment dated 11.06.2009 passed in A.S. No.6 of
upheld.
iii. the decree and judgment dated 06.12.2007 passed in O.S. No.74
iv. The Suit in O.S. No.74 of 2005 on the file of the Subordinate
08.03.2023
Index: Yes/No
Internet: Yes/No
Speaking/Non-Speaking order
bga
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S.A.No.1204 of 2009 & M.P. No.1 of 2009
To
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S.A.No.1204 of 2009 & M.P. No.1 of 2009
R. HEMALATHA, J.
bga
08.03.2023
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