AO/77/2008 1/17 JUDGMENT IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD APPEAL FROM ORDER No. 77 of 2008 WITH CIVIL APPLICATION No. 2713 of 2008 WITH CIVIL APPLICATION No.6831 of 2008 For Approval and Signature: HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE M.R. SHAH ========================================================= 1 Whether Reporters of Local Papers may be allowed to see the judgment ? 2 To be referred to the Reporter or not ? 3 Whether their Lordships wish to see the fair copy of the judgment ? 4 Whether this case involves a substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the constitution of India, 1950 or any order made thereunder ? 5 Whether it is to be circulated to the civil judge ? ========================================================= CHANCHALBEN D/O RANCHHODBHAI MAKANBHAI WD/O THAKORBHAI - Appellant(s) Versus BAI JELLY WD/O LALLUBHAI DULLABHBHAI & 8 - Respondent(s) ========================================================= Appearance : MR AMIT V THAKKAR for Appellant(s) : 1, MR DC DAVE for Respondent(s) : 1, MS. KRUTI M SHAH for Respondent(s) : 2 - 3. NOTICE SERVED BY DS for Respondent(s) : 4, 6, MR SHAILESH C SHARMA for Respondent(s) : 5, MR RAKESH R PATEL for Respondent(s) : 7 - 9. ========================================================= CORAM : HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE M.R. SHAH Date : 12/11/2008 C.A.V. JUDGMENT 1. Present Appeal From Order is filed by the appellant - original plaintiff under Order 43 Rule 1(r) of the Code of AO/77/2008 2/17 JUDGMENT Civil Procedure challenging the order dtd.25/2/2008 passed by the learned 5th Additional Senior Civil Judge and the order passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate (First Class), Surat below application Ex.5 in Special Civil Suit No. 417 of 2007 and also the order passed by the trial court below application Ex.48, by which the learned trial court has dismissed the application submitted by the appellant for interim injunction against the defendants. 2. The appellant herein – original plaintiff had instituted Special Civil Suit No. 417 of 2007 in the court of learned Civil Judge, Senior Division, Surat for declaration that the Mutation Entry Nos.480, 841 and 2113 posted in the revenue record of land bearing Block No.13, Revenue Survey Nos.6/1 and 6/3 of village Godadra be declared as illegal and null and void. The plaintiff has also further prayed for a declaration that the sale deed dtd.16/10/2006 executed by the defendant Nos.1 to 6 in favour of the defendant No.4 be declared as illegal, forged, without consideration and ineffective and the same is not binding to the plaintiff. It is also prayed for declaration declaring that the plaintiff is the owner of House No.61. In the said suit, permanent injunction was AO/77/2008 3/17 JUDGMENT also sought by the plaintiff restraining the defendants permanently from selling, transferring and/or allignating the suit property and/or in any way acting against the interest of the plaintiff. As per the plaintiff, the plaintiff is the owner of the land bearing Revenue Survey No.6, Hissa No.1 of village Godadra, Taluka Choryasi, District Surat as well as land bearing No.61 of Godadra Gram Panchayat. The plaintiff has claimed the ownership of the aforesaid property on the basis of the Will executed by one Parbhubhai Lalabhai – grandfather of the plaintiff, which was registered at the office of Sub-Registrar, Surat at Sr.No.1149 on 25/4/1968. As per the plaintiff, he had executed one power of attorney in favour of the defendant No.5 for the property bearing Revenue Survey No. 6/1 and the said power of attorney was acting against the interest of the plaintiff in collusion with the defendant Nos.1 to 3 and therefore, the plaintiff cancelled the said power of attorney. As per the plaintiff, the defendant No.5 was informed about the cancellation of the power of the said power of attorney by issuing notice, which was served through the learned advocate appearing on behalf of the plaintiff and therefore, as per the plaintiff, the defendant No.5 had no right to AO/77/2008 4/17 JUDGMENT administer the said property. As per the plaintiff, the deceased Lallubhai Durlabhbhai – husband of the defendant No.1 and father of the defendant Nos.2 and 3, had made entry in the revenue record recording the land bearing Revenue Survey No. 6/1 of village Godadra and thereafter, he had made family agreement and entered the name of the defendant Nos.2 and 3 in the revenue record and therefore, their names are shown as owners of the said land in the revenue record vide Mutation Entry No.25/8/1983, which is illegal and hence the plaintiff has challenged the said entry also. As per the plaintiff, he has never sold the said property to the defendants, but the defendant Nos.1 to 3 have forged the documents and on the basis of the forged documents, they have got their names entered into the revenue records vide Mutation Entry No. 2113, which is also illegal. It is the case on behalf of the plaintiff that, therefore, he has filed the aforesaid suit for the relief aforesaid and restraining the defendants from putting up any construction or developing the land in question by making plots on the land bearing Block No.13 paiki Revenue Survey No. 6/1 of village Godadra. In the said suit, the appellant - plaintiff submitted an application for interim injunction at Ex.5 AO/77/2008 5/17 JUDGMENT restraining the defendants from transferring and/or alienating the suit land and acting against the interest of the plaintiff and for further restraining the defendants from putting up any construction and/or developing the said land during the final disposal of the suit. 3. The application Ex.5 was resisted by the defendants by submitting that much prior to grandfather of the appellant i.e. Parbhubhai Lalabhai executed Will in the year 1968, the land in question was in the name of deceased Lallubhai Durlabhbhai and therefore, at the time when the Will was executed in favour of the appellant, the said Parbhubhai Lalabhai had no right, title or interest in the land in question and therefore, he could not have transferred the property in favour of the appellant. It is submitted that necessary entry was mutated in the revenue record in the year 1967 vide Mutation Entry No.1149 and the said entry was challenged before the Dy.Collector and the Dy.Collector held in favour of the deceased Lallubhai Durlabhbhai, however, the same has not been challenged further. It is further submitted that even thereafter the said deceased Lallubhai Durlabhbhai has made family arrangement / AO/77/2008 6/17 JUDGMENT arrangement and the properties were given to the defendant Nos.2 and 3 and necessary entry in the revenue record was mutated being Mutation Entry No.841 dtd.25/8/1983 and since then, the defendant Nos.2 and 3 have become absolute owners. That thereafter the defendant Nos.2 and 3 have sold the property in question in favour of the defendant No.4 by registered sale deed dtd.17/10/2006 and thus, the defendant No.4 has become absolute owner. Submitting accordingly it was requested to dismiss the application Ex.5. 4. After considering the submissions made on behalf of the respective parties and appreciating the evidence on record, the learned trial court, vide order dtd.25/2/2008, dismissed the application Ex.5. It is submitted that one another application Ex.48 was also submitted by the appellant plaintiff for the similar relief which also came to be dismissed by the trial court by the impugned common order. Being aggrieved by and dissatisfied with the impugned common order passed by the trial court below application Ex.Nos.5 and 48 dtd.25/2/2008 in Special Civil Suit No. 417 of 2007, the appellant herein – original plaintiff has preferred present Appeal From Order. AO/77/2008 7/17 JUDGMENT 5. Mr.Amit Thakkar, learned advocate appearing on behalf of the appellant has vehemently submitted that the learned trial court has materially erred in relying upon the entry in favour of deceased Lallubhai Durlabhbhai and the removal of the name of Parbhubhai Lalabhai from the revenue record. It is submitted that the trial court ought to have appreciated that the revenue entry is only for fiscal purpose and the same does not establish the title of the property. It is submitted that inspite the above fact the trial court has erred in coming to the conclusion that the Parbhubhai Lalabhai had no right in the said land and therefore, he could not have transferred and/or executed any Will any will in favour of the appellant. It is further submitted that the learned trial court has erred in believing that only because the name of Parbhubhai Lalabhai did not continue in the revenue record, he could not have executed any Will regarding the disputed land. It is submitted that the trial court ought to have held that the Mutation Entry does not take away ownership right. It is submitted that on one hand the trial court has observed that when the Will which is base of the suit, is real or not is to be decided after taking evidence, still the AO/77/2008 8/17 JUDGMENT learned trial court has refused to grant injunction, which requires to be quashed and set aside. It is submitted that the learned trial court ought to have considered that non- grant of injunction against the respondents would lead to multiplicity of proceedings, more particularly when the respondent No.4 – original defendant No.4 had, after filing of the suit and after being served summons of the same, has further executed Sale Deed in favour of the defendant Nos.6 to 9. It is submitted that the aforesaid facts reveal the malafide conduct on the part of the original defendants and the respondents herein, in collusion with each other, are trying to frustrate the rights of the present appellant in the land in question. It is further submitted that the trial court ought to have considered that the Will relied upon by the present appellant – plaintiff is registered on 25/4/1968 and therefore, its genuineness ought to have been believed by the trial court. Submitting accordingly it is requested to allow the present Appeal From Order and application Ex.Nos.5 and 48. 6. Present Appeal From Order is opposed by Mr.Dhaval Dave, learned advocate appearing on behalf of the AO/77/2008 9/17 JUDGMENT respondent No.1, Ms.Kruti Shah, learned advocate appearing on behalf of the respondent Nos.2 & 3, Mr.Shailesh Sharma, learned advocate appearing on behalf of the respondent No.5 and Mr.Rakesh Patel, learned advocate appearing on behalf of the respondent Nos.7 to 9. The respondent Nos.4 to 6 though served, have chosen not to appear either personally or through advocate. 7. It is submitted by the learned advocates appearing on behalf of the respondents that Parbhubhai Lalabhai managed to get his name entered into the revenue record prior to the year 1967 and the same was challenged by the deceased Lallubhai Durlabhbhai before the Dy.Collector and the Dy.Collector allowed the appeal preferred by the said deceased and the name of said Lallubhai Durlabhbhai was removed and/or ordered to be deleted from the revenue record in the year 1967, however, the Lallubhai Durlabhbhai did not challenge the same and vide Mutation Entry No.480, the name of Lallubhai Durlabhbhai was entered into the revenue record and since then the land in question came to be continued in the name of deceased Lallubhai AO/77/2008 10/17 JUDGMENT Durlabhbhai. It is submitted that thereafter there was a family settlement and suit properties had gone in favour of the defendant Nos.2 and 3 and necessary entry was made in the year 1983 and even thereafter also the appellant did not take any step challenging the same. Thereafter, the defendant Nos.2 and 3 sold the property in question in favour of the defendant No.4 by registered sale deed dtd.17/10/2006 and thereafter the name of the defendant No.4 was also entered into the revenue record and thereafter after a period of almost one year and two months, the present suit came to be filed. Considering the above when the name of the Parbhubhai Lalabhai was deleted in the year 1967 and as the same was not challenged by Parbhubhai Lalabhai, Parbhubhai Lalabhai had no right, title or interest in the land in question and therefore, he could not have executed the Will in favour of the appellant with respect to the suit land and therefore, it is submitted that under the circumstances, the learned trial court has rightly rejected the application Ex.5. It is submitted that even the plaintiff has challenged Mutation Entry Nos.480, 841 and 2113 belatedly and even the suit has been filed belatedly and even the suit for challenging the said Mutation Entries is not AO/77/2008 11/17 JUDGMENT maintainable. It is submitted that Mutation Entry No.480 was made in the year 1968, Mutation Entry No.841 was made in the year 1983 and the same are challenged by the appellant by filing the suit in the year 2007, which is not permissible and under the circumstances, the learned trial court has rightly dismissed the application Ex.Nos.5 and 48. Submitting accordingly it is requested to dismiss the present Appeal From Order. 8. Heard the learned advocates appearing on behalf of the respective parties. 9. At the outset, it is required to be noted that the appellant claims ownership on the basis of the Will executed by his grandfather - Prabhubhai Lalabhai on 25/4/1968. Prior thereto, in an appeal preferred by the deceased Lallubhai Durlabhbhai before the Dy.Collector in RTS Appeal No.31 of 1967, the name of Prabhubhai Lalabhai was directed to be removed and the said order has never been challenged by Parbhubhai Lalabhai. Under the circumstances, the order passed by the Dy.Collector in RTS Appeal No.31 of 1967 removing the name of Parbhubhai Lalabhai has become final and conclusive for AO/77/2008 12/17 JUDGMENT want of challenge. It appears that on the basis of the order passed by the Dy.Collector in RTS Appeal No.31 of 1967, Mutation Entry No.480 was mutated in the revenue record on 24/5/1968 and the said entry also came to be confirmed after following due procedure on 7/7/1968. Inspite of the above, Parbhubhai Lalabhai executed Will thereafter in favour of the appellant herein. Under the circumstances, the learned trial court has rightly prima facie believed that the said Parbhubhai Lalabhai could not have executed Will with respect to the suit land in favour of the appellant. 10.It is also required to be noted that after execution of the Will, the plaintiff has not taken any step claiming ownership of the land in question. As stated above, the name of deceased Lallubhai Durlabhbhai was mutated in the revenue record vide Mutation Entry No.480 in the year 1968 and the said entry was certified in the month of July, 1968, still, however, no steps were taken by Parbhubhai Lalabhai and/or the appellant to challenge the said entry. Even thereafter, there was family settlement amongst the family members of deceased Lallubhai Durlabhbhai and on the basis of which the name of the AO/77/2008 13/17 JUDGMENT defendant Nos.2 and 3 were entered in the revenue record vide Mutation Entry No.841 dtd.25/8/1983, still no steps were taken by the appellant to challenge the said entries and/or no suit had been filed. Thereafter, since 1983 the land in question is exclusively continued in the name of the defendant Nos.2 and 3 and thereafter the defendant No.4 has purchased the said property by registered sale deed dtd.17/10/2006 and the necessary entry is also made in the revenue record being Mutation Entry No.2113. It also appears from the proceedings that even Mutation Entry No. 841 was earlier challenged by the appellant herein in the year 2000 and the appeal preferred by the appellant also came to be dismissed. Still, no further steps were taken by the appellant and the prsent suit is filed in the year 2007. By filing present suit Mutation Entry Nos.480, 841 and 2113 cannot be challenged and the suit is barred under the provisions of Bombay Land Revenue Code. Apart from that even the said Mutation Entries could not have been challenged by the appellant after inordinate delay, as the Mutation Entry No.480 is of the year 1968 and Mutation Entry No.481 is of the year 1983. Further, As stated above, Mutation Entry No.841 was challenged by the appellant in the year AO/77/2008 14/17 JUDGMENT 2000 before the Dy.Collector and the appellant lost in the said appeal and it appears that no further steps are taken for challenging the same. Considering the above, when the trial court has dismissed the application Ex.Nos.5 and 48, it cannot be said that the learned trial court has committed any error and/or illegality. It is required to be noted that after the defendant No.4 purchased the property in question, he was put into possession and had obtained the N.A. Permission from the Government and also obtained permission from the Surat Municipal Corporation and Surat Urban Development Authority and after obtaining necessary permissions, he started to develop the land. Under the circumstances, the appellant is not entitled to injunction as prayed for. 11.Now, so far as the contention on behalf of the appellant that there was a registered Will in favour of the appellant and therefore, the learned trial court ought to have believed the same, is concerned, it is required to be noted that assuming that such a Will was there, but still as stated above, prima facie considering the facts of the case, said Parbhubhai Lalabhai could not have executed the Will with respect to the suit land in favour of the AO/77/2008 15/17 JUDGMENT appellant, in view of the fact that the name of Parbhubhai Lalabhai was already removed from the revenue record in the year 1967, pursuant to the order passed by the Dy.Collector and the said order has not been challenged by Parbhubhai Lalabhai and the same has become final and conclusive. Even thereafter also there are so many transactions till 2007 and except challenge to the Mutation Entry No.841 in the year 2000, the appellant has not taken any step on the basis of the aforesaid Will and the present suit is filed only in the year 2007. Considering the above, the learned trial court has rightly dismissed the application Ex.Nos.5 and 48 submitted by the appellant for interim injunction. 12.At this stage the decision of this Court in the case of Veetrag Holdings Pvt. Ltd. Vs. Gujarat State Textile Corporation Ltd., reported in 1996 (1) G.L.H. 179 is required to be referred to. As held by this Court in the said decision, application for interim injunction restraining transfer of property during the pendency of the suit, being equitable relief can be refused on the ground of delay and laches. In the present case, as stated above, no efforts were AO/77/2008 16/17 JUDGMENT made by the original plaintiff for establishing their rights till the present suit came to be filed in the year 2007. 13.It is also to be noted that the defendant No.4 is the bonafide purchaser of the property in question on payment of full consideration and they were put into possession and also obtained N.A. Permission from the Competent Authority and also obtained necessary permission from the Surat Municipal Corporation and Surat Urban Development Authority and has started developing the land and thus, huge amount has been incurred by the defendant No.4. Under the circumstances also the plaintiff is not entitled to any injunction as prayed for against the defendant No.4. 14.For the reasons stated above, present Appeal From Order deserves to be dismissed and is accordingly dismissed. In the facts and circumstances of the case, there shall be no order as to costs. Notice is discharged. In view of the dismissal of the main Appeal From Order, no orders in the Civil Application Nos.2713 and 6831 of 2008. Ad-interim relief granted earlier in Civil Application No.6831 of 2008 stands vacated. Rafik [M.R. SHAH, J.] AO/77/2008 17/17 JUDGMENT FURTHER ORDERS After the aforesaid judgement is pronounced, Mr.Amit Thakkar, learned advocate for the appellant has requested to extend the ad-interim relief granted earlier so as to enable the appellant to approach the higher forum. In the facts and circumstances of the case, ad-interim relief granted earlier in Civil Application No.6831 of 2008 in Appeal From Order No.77 of 2008 is directed to be continued till 15/12/2008. [M.R. SHAH, J.] rafik