Case: Kedar Nath Lal &amp; Another Vs. Ganesh Ram &amp; Others

1. These are 13 appeals by certificate against the common judgment in second appeal, April 17, 1957, of the High Court of Patna. The appellants are the original plaintiffs. The appellants had filed 12 title suits for ejectment in the Court of the Second Munsif at Buxar. Eleven suits were dismissed. It was held that the plaintiffs had no title to suit lands. One suit was compromised and decreed in terms of the compromise. Two other suits-one by Kedar Nath (one of the plaintiffs in the 12 title suits) and the other by one Udholal - were filed for rent for 1335-1337 Fasli in respect of some lands comprised in Survey No. 3385 of Mouza Buxar against the tenant Ram Chhabi Lal. The two rent suits were heard together. Kedar Nath was held to be the landlord and not Udholal. The suit of the former was decreed and that of the latter dismissed. On appeals filed by Udholal the decision was reversed. Appeals by Kedar Nath to the High Court were dismissed on the ground that in the title suits from which eleven appeals were filed it was held by the High Court affirming the decision of the Courts below that Kedar Nath had no title. Since the success of the last two appeals depended on whether Kedar Nath had title or not it is not necessary to refer to them at this stage. We shall deal with the other eleven appeals first.2. In these appeals, plaintiffs and defendants 1 to 3 are common. Plaintiffs are purchasers from the mortgagees of the suit lands who had purchased the suit lands in an auction sale in execution of the mortgage decree. Defendants 1 to 3 were the former owners of these suit lands and the other defendants were either purchasers at auction-sales in execution of money decrees against the owners or transferees from the auction-purchasers.3. The suits concern plots formed out of two Survey Nos. 3384 and 3385. It is thus that the other two suits get connected with the title suits because in those suits the rent of certain plots from Survey No. 3385 was involved. The history of the plots is as follows :-4. One Laxmi Narain was the previous owner of these two Survey Nos. On his death his daughters sons Ram Narain Ram, Sheonarain Ram and Gopal Ram inherited these Survey Nos. along with other properties. The first two sons were defendants 1 to 2 in the suits and defendant 3 is the son of Sheonarain Ram. In 1930 the other two brothers sued Gopal Ram for a partition. Preliminary decree was passed on April 15, 1931 and the final decree on September 10, 1932. Half share in the property went to Gopal Ram and other half jointly to the other two brothers. The suit Survey Nos. came to the share of Ram Narain Ram and Sheonarain Ram.5. On April 27, 1931, Ram Narain Ram executed a mortgage of a half share in 27 plots made in the two Survey Nos. and some other property with Buxar Trading Co-operative Society. On 20-4-1933, the Society released Ram Narain Rams share in the 27 plots from the mortgage by a registered release deed. On September 20, 1932 Sheonarain Ram filed a suit for partition against Ram Narain Ram. The preliminary decree was passed in May 1933, that is to say, after the release by the Society. The two brothers divided the two Survey Nos. half and half between them. No final decree in this partition suit seems to have been passed.6. Devendra Nath (one of the defendants) obtained settlement of 3 k 13 d of land out of Survey No. 3384 from Sheonarain Ram on June 10, 1933 and in execution of a money decree against Ram Narain Ram and Sheonarain Ram purchased on August 13, 1934 the remaining portion of Survey No. 3384 and Survey No. 3385. He obtained possession on February 27, 1935. He had obtained attachment of the two plots before judgment, on April 23, 1934. Devendra Nath disposed of 3 k 13 d by settling them on his wife and she was one of the defendants in the suits. Devendra Naths title depends on whether the release by the Society was valid and binding on the Society or not. If the release was valid and binding on the Society, the Society could not obtain a decree in respect of these two Survey Nos. and bring them to sale. This is one of the points for consideration in these appeals. The High Court and the Court below have decided unanimously that the release was not binding on the Society and Devendra Nath obtained no title.7. On April 26, 1934, that is to say, before Devendra Naths purchase but after attachment by him, the Society applied to the Registrar, Co-operative Societies, for a mortgage award. In that application the surety of Ram Narain Ram was also joined. On August 16, 1934, a money award was given against Ram Narain Ram and his surety. On September 20, 1934, the money award was cancelled and a preliminary mortgage award was passed. Admittedly the mortgage award had the force of a mortgage decree. The final mortgage award was made on May 28, 1935. The award ordered sale of all mortgage properties including the half share of Ram Narain Ram in Survey Nos. 3384 and 3385. No mention was made of the earlier release of the Survey Nos. by the Society by a registered deed. In execution of the decree the Society purchased the two Survey Nos. on February 7, 1936 and obtained possession on July 20,1937.8. One Dwarikanath had a money decree against the Society and he attached the two disputed Survey Nos. and brought them to sale. The Buxar Central Co-operative Bank purchased the two Survey Nos. in auction-sale on February 8, 1940, obtaining possession on July 5, 1941. On March 26, 1943 the Society and the Bank went into liquidation. The right, title and interest of the Society and the Bank was sold by the common Liquidator to Kedar Nath including the 27 plots made in the two Survey Nos. Kedar Naths purchase was on March 20, 1943 but he took the sale benami in the name of Dhanesar Pandey, who was plaintiff No. 2 in the title suits while Kedarnath was plaintiff No. 1. The title of the plaintiffs Kedar Nath and Dhanesar Pandey is based on this purchase. After the release of the two Survey Nos. by the Society, Ram Narain Ram and Sheonarain Ram, and after his purchase, Devendra Nath, made settlement of the plots to various persons. They are the remaining defendants in the suits and respondents in the various appeals before us. The High Court has given a chart of these persons and the dates of pattas but as nothing turns upon these details it is not necessary to mention them here.

Court's reasoning:
10. Before we deal with these two points it may be mentioned at once that neither ground of appeal applies to the transfers by Sheonarain who was not a mortgagor and who was not affected by the release deed made by the Society.C. B. Aggarwal frankly conceded that the transfer by him could not be assailed and must stand. He, therefore, did not press Civil Appeals Nos. 1091, 1092, 1093 and 1094 of 1964. These appeals are accordingly dismissed withour opinion the release was binding on the society. The argument in opposition to the binding nature of the release is that it was conditional on payment of Rs. 500. This is not true. No doubt the motive for the release was the payment of Rs. 500 to the Society promised by Ram Narain Ram, but the payment was not made a condition of the release.There was no attempt to realise this amount from Ram Narain Ram. Therefore, the release being absolute and unconditional and by a registered deed must be treated as binding. It is open to the promisee to waive the performance of any part of the contract or to release any property from the operation of a mortgage or charge. If he wishes his rights to continue in the event of some condition simultaneously imposed on the promisor, he must see that the release is made dependent on the performance by the promisor of his part of the agreement. Here the Society merely released the two plots without making the payment a condition precedent, and the release operated.12. That, however, is not the end of the matter. The Society filed on April 5, 1934 a petition for a mortgage award before the Assistant Registrar, Co- operative Societies. The petition is headed Petition for mortgage decree. The petition mentioned that the mortgage was made on April 27, 1931 and that the amount secured was Rs. 3000 with interest at 12 1/2 per cent per annum. The petition then described the property mortgaged and it included plots Nos. 3385 and 3384. The amount due on December 31, 1933 was said to be Rs. 2440/3.When the Registrar made his order he overlooked that a mortgaged award had to be passed. On August 16, 1934 he ordered that an award jointly with sureties bethis mortgage award which had the force of a preliminary decree, the Society on December 16, 1934 resolved that a final mortgage decree be obtained from the Assistant Registrar, and a final decree was obtained and the property brought to sale on February 7, 1936 and purchased by the Society itself with the permission of the court executing the decree.Possession was obtained on July 20,1937. Therefore, litigation in respect of this mortgage remained pending from April 5, 1934 to July 20, 1937. Under Explanation to Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act the whole of this period denoted pendency of the proceeding for purposes of application of the doctrine of lis pendens.14. All the leases made by Devendranth were after the proceedings commenced. Devendranath purchased the right, title and interest of Ram Narain Ram on August 13, 1934.His acquisition was prima facie hit by the doctrine of lis pendens. Three arguments were advanced before us to meet this situation and we shall now deal with thema proposition of law the argument is sound but it is wrongly grounded on fact. The proceeding was to get a mortgage award, the equivalent of a mortgage decree. The Court made a mistake and treated it as a proceeding for a money decree. When the Court corrected its order, the mortgage award related back to the petition as made and the whole of the proceeding must be treated as covered by the doctrine. We cannot, therefore, accede to the suggestion that the doctrine did not apply; at any rate, on this suggested ground.16.The second ground of attack is that before the proceeding commenced before the Registrar these fields had been attached and therefore, the doctrine of lis pendens again cannotpoint was considered in Samarendra Nath Sinha v. Krishna Kumar Nag, 1967-2 SCR 18   = (AIR 1967 SC 1440  ) by one of us (Shelatground also has nothis there are two answers. Firstly, the respondent before the Registrar (Ram Narain Ram) made no objection to the inclusion of the plots in the petition for a mortgage award. Secondly, the doctrine of lis pendens applies irrespective of the strength or weakness of the case on one side oris, however, one condition that the proceedings must be bona fide. Here no doubt the Society knew that the plots had been released from the mortgage, but it was also clear that the release was to enable Ram Narain Ram to dispose of some of the plots and pay Rs. 500 to the Society. This amount was never paid and the Society must have bona fide felt that the plots still remained encumbered. In fact the attitude of Ram Narain Ram in not claiming that these plots be removed from the mortgage award shows that he too felt that this was the true position.For the above reasons we are clear that the purchase by Kedarnath was protected by the doctrine of lis pendens, the prior transfer to the defendants notwithstanding.