RSA No.1968 of 2007 -1- IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH RSA No. 1968 of 2007 Date of decision July 09, 2009 Kek Singh .....APPELLANT VERSUS Sri Pal and others .....RESPONDENTS CORAM: HON'BLE MR JUSTICE T.P.S.MANN PRESENT: Mr J.S.Hooda, Advocate Mr Shiv Kumar, Advocate T.P.S.MANN, J. Suit filed by the appellant for a decree of declaration that he was owner in possession of the suit land and sale deed dated 12.6.1975 and mutation No.1424 were illegal, void and not binding on his rights, was dismissed by the trial Court. Even the first appeal filed by him was dismissed by the lower appellate Court. He is now before this Court in the second appeal filed under Section 100 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Vide sale deed dated 12.6.1975, the father of the plaintiff sold the suit property in favour of the defendants/respondents followed by delivery of possession. Mutation No.1424 was sanctioned in favour of the defendants on the basis of the sale deed in question. The challenge of the plaintiff to the sale deed was that as his father had already died on 9.4.1974 as per the copy of death certificate RSA No.1968 of 2007 -2- Ex.PW3/A, there was no question of the sale deed being executed by his father on 12.6.1975. On the other hand, the defendants took the stand that father of the plaintiff died on 25.6.1975 as per the death certificate Ex.D3. Photocopies of Ex.PW3/A and Ex.D3 have been produced by learned counsel for the parties and taken on record. A perusal of death certificate Ex.PW3/A reveals that though the necessary information regarding the death of Ran Singh, father of the plaintiff on 9.4.1974 stands incorporated in Form No.10 and the certificate issued under Section 17 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, yet it has been issued by S.H.O. P.S. Chhainsa on 25.8.1998. It also bears the official stamp of Additional District Registrar, Births and Deaths-cum- District Health Officer, Faridabad, duly countersigned on 27.8.1998. Though the death of Ran Singh was mentioned therein to have occurred on 9.4.1974, the registration was made on 25.8.1998. In their judgements, learned lower Courts have referred to the evidence of DW2 SI/SHO Randhir Singh wherein he stated that the relevant record regarding the death of Ran Singh was not available in the Police Station. As per DW4 Girraj Singh, Statistical Assistant, the SHO had no authority/power to issue the death certificate after a period of 24 years. Only the Director General of Health Department was competent to order registration of the death after the expiry of 15 years from the death of the person. On the other hand, above named Statistical Assistant produced death register pertaining to the year 1975 and deposed that Ran Singh died on 25.6.1975 as per the death certificate Ex.D3 issued by the Additional District Registrar, Births and Deaths-cum-District Health Officer on behalf of the Civil Surgeon, Faridabad. RSA No.1968 of 2007 -3- In view of the apparent falsehood in copy of death certificate Ex.PW3/A, learned lower Courts were justified in holding that Ran Singh did not die on 9.4.1974. Instead, after executing the sale deed on 12.6.1975 in favour of the defendants, he died on 25.6.1975 as per death certificate Ex. D3. The concurrent findings of facts arrived at by the learned Courts below, do not suffer from any infirmity or illegality. No question of law, much less substantial questions of law, as claimed by the appellant, arises for determination in the appeal. Resultantly, the appeal is dismissed. (T.P.S.MANN) July 09, 2009 JUDGE Pds