Case: Gorakh Nath Dube Vs. Hari Narain Singh &amp; Ors

to the validity of sale deeds, gift deeds, and wills could be gone into in proceedings before the consolidation authorities, because such questions naturally and necessarily arose and had to be decided in the course of adjudications on rights or interests in land which are the subject matter of consolidation proceedings.We think that a distinction can be made between cases where a document is wholly or partially invalid so that it can be disregarded by any court or authority and one where it has to be actually set aside before it can cease to have legal effect. An alienation made in excess of power to transfer would be, to the extent of the excess of power, invalid. An adjudication on the effect of such a purported alienation would be necessarily implied in the decision of a dispute involving conflicting claims to rights or interests in land which are the subject matter of consolidation proceedings. The existence and quantum of rights claimed or denied will have to be declared by the consolidation authorities which would be deemed to be invested with jurisdiction, by the necessary implication of their statutory powers to adjudicate upon such rights and interests in land, to declare such documents effective or ineffective, but where there is a document the legal effect of which can only be taken away by setting it aside or its cancellation, it could be urged that the consolidation authorities have no power to cancel the deed, and, therefore, it must be held to be binding on them so long as it is not cancelled by a court having the power to cancel it. In the case before us, the plaintiffs claim is that the sale of his half share by his uncle was invalid, inoperative, and void, such a claim could be adjudicated upon by consolidation courts. We find ourselves in agreement with the view expressed by the Division Bench of the Allahabad High Court in Jagarnath Shuklas case, 1969 All LJ 768 (supra). that it is the substance of the claim and not its form which is decisive.6. Learned counsel for the Plaintiff-Appellant tried to urge before us, on the strength of a copy of a judgment of the Settlement Officer, Consolidations Jaunpur dated 24-1-1968, filed with an affidavit. in opposition to Defendant-Respondents application under Sections 4 and : 5 of the Act made before us, that the Settlement Officer himself had held that consolidation authorities had no jurisdiction to decide the case now before us by special leave. After going through the order of the Settlement Officer, we find that he did not reach any such conclusion. All that the Settlement Officer did was to stay the appeal pending before him until the appeal, by special leave pending before this Court is decided here. We may observe that this was a very correct and proper course for the Settlement Officer to adopt. He did not make any observations about the absence of his own jurisdiction. And, he could not properly make any observation about the existence or absence of the jurisdiction of this Court to decide the merits of the case pending before this court because this question was likely to arise before us and has been raised in the case before us now. It is obvious to us that the result of the order of the Settlement Officer is that, after the disposal of this appeal by special leave by us, the appeal pending before the Settlement Officer can be revived and an appropriate decision on merits on respective claims taken by him in view of Section 52, sub-sec. (2) of the Act, which provides, inter alia, that, despite a notification under Section 52 (l) of the Act, closing consolidation operations in a village, cases or proceedings pending under the Act on the date of the issue of notification under Section 52 (1) will be decided as though consolidation operations had not terminated. The result is that the parties are not deprived of an appropriate forum for a decision on the merits of the case before us about which we deliberately refrain from making any observations.7. It may be mentioned here that Shri J. P. Goyal, appearing for the Plaintiff-Appellant, had also contended that the Defendant-Respondents were precluded from raising the preliminary objection as they had not appealed from the order of the High Court dismissing their application under Sections 4 and 5 of the Act. We find that the merits of the question raised by the application were dealt with in the body of the judgment allowing the second appeal and dismissing the plaintiffs suit which is under appeal before us. The Defendant-Respondents are only seeking to support the Judgment of dismissal of the suit on another ground which was available. It is true that there is a very short separate order of the High Court also on the application of the Defendant-Respondents in the High Court under Sections 4 and 5 of the Act stating that the application is dismissed for the reasons given in the body of the judgment in the case. We, however, think that the Defendant-Respondents were justified in not appealing separately from it as there could be no res judicata against them when the plaintiffs suit was dismissed by the High Court. It has been rightly contended, on behalf of the Defendant-Respondents, that, as they had secured their object, which was the dismissal of the suit, there was nothing left for them to appeal against.8. Upon the facts and circumstances mentioned above, we think that the preliminary objection of the Defendant-Respondents, in support of which they have filed a separate application in this Court also, uncles Sections 4 and 5 of the Act, has to be accepted for the reasons given above. But, we also think that there is some force in the objection on behalf of the Plaintiff-Appellant that, we allow the decree of the High Court to stand, the disposal of the claims on merits by the consolidation authority may be hampered.

Decision (1 = appeal accepted, 0 = rejected): 1

Explanation:
1[ds]After going through the order of the Settlement Officer, we find that he did not reach any such conclusion. All that the Settlement Officer did was to stay the appeal pending before him until the appeal, by special leave pending before this Court is decided here. We may observe that this was a very correct and proper course for the Settlement Officer to adopt. He did not make any observations about the absence of his own jurisdiction. And, he could not properly make any observation about the existence or absence of the jurisdiction of this Court to decide the merits of the case pending before this court because this question was likely to arise before us and has been raised in the case before us now. It is obvious to us that the result of the order of the Settlement Officer is that, after the disposal of this appeal by special leave by us, the appeal pending before the Settlement Officer can be revived and an appropriate decision on merits on respective claims taken by him in view of Section 52, sub-sec. (2) of the Act, which provides, inter alia, that, despite a notification under Section 52 (l) of the Act, closing consolidation operations in a village, cases or proceedings pending under the Act on the date of the issue of notification under Section 52 (1) will be decided as though consolidation operations had not terminated. The result is that the parties are not deprived of an appropriate forum for a decision on the merits of the case before us about which we deliberately refrain from making anyfind that the merits of the question raised by the application were dealt with in the body of the judgment allowing the second appeal and dismissing the plaintiffs suit which is under appeal before us. The Defendant-Respondents are only seeking to support the Judgment of dismissal of the suit on another ground which was available. It is true that there is a very short separate order of the High Court also on the application of the Defendant-Respondents in the High Court under Sections 4 and 5 of the Act stating that the application is dismissed for the reasons given in the body of the judgment in the case. We, however, think that the Defendant-Respondents were justified in not appealing separately from it as there could be no res judicata against them when the plaintiffs suit was dismissed by the High Court. It has been rightly contended, on behalf of the Defendant-Respondents, that, as they had secured their object, which was the dismissal of the suit, there was nothing left for them to appeal against.8. Upon the facts and circumstances mentioned above, we think that the preliminary objection of the Defendant-Respondents, in support of which they have filed a separate application in this Court also, uncles Sections 4 and 5 of the Act, has to be accepted for the reasons given above. But, we also think that there is some force in the objection on behalf of the Plaintiff-Appellant that, we allow the decree of the High Court to stand, the disposal of the claims on merits by the consolidation authority may be hampered.