Ashan Devi
& Anr Vs. Phulwasi Devi & Ors [2003] Insc 578 (19 November 2003)
Shivaraj
V. Patil & D.M. Dharmadhikari. Dharmadhikari J.
Special Leave Petition (civil) 8261 of 2001
This
appeal and the connected special leave petition arise out of the same execution
proceedings and the impugned order dated 23.4.2001 passed by the High Court of Patna.
The
principle question involved is whether a purchaser of a vacant land under
registered Sale Deed and claiming to be in possession of the land can maintain
an application under Order 21 Rule 97 of the Code of Civil Procedure
complaining of his alleged dispossession in execution of the decree of specific
performance of contract of sale obtained ex parte by the decree holder against
the original owner of the suit property? For the sake of easy understanding,
the parties shall be described in their status in the executing proceedings as
Decree Holder, Judgement Debtor and Objector. For the purpose of these appeals,
we do not consider it necessary to go into greater details of the proceedings
in the suit which resulted in passing of the decree of specific performance of
the contract.
Bare
facts necessary for the purpose of decision are as under :- According to the
decree holder, an Agreement of Sale was obtained on 12.07.1984 from the
judgment debtor in respect of the suit lands which are now potential building
sites on the outskirts of Patna city. The case of the decree holder is that
when she filed the suit no. 22/87 against her vendors for specific performance
of Agreement of Sale dated 12.7.1984, she was not aware that the Objectors had
obtained title to the suit property by four separate sale deeds in the year
1985 and got them registered in Calcutta where the vendors resided. The
purchasers were not made parties to the suit.
The
case of the Objectors is that pursuant to the execution of the registered sale
deeds, they obtained possession of the land and got their names mutated in the
records of the Patna Municipality.
According
to them, they had no knowledge of any prior agreement of sale existing in favour
of the Decree Holder.
The
vendors did not contest the suit for specific performance of agreement of sale
filed by the Decree Holder. An ex-parte decree of specific performance of
contract was passed on 08.11.1990 in favour of the Decree Holder. The decree
was put in execution by Decree Holder by depositing the balance consideration
of sale in the court. A registered sale deed was executed by the court in favour
of the decree holder as the judgment debtors absented despite notice and failed
to execute it. According to the Decree Holder, on 5.9.1996, through the process
issued by the executing court, possession of the decreed property was obtained
by the Decree Holder through Court Nazir without any obstruction or resistance
from any one.
On
21.9.1996, the Objectors filed an application under Order XXI Rule 99 before
the executing court complaining their illegal dispossession and seeking
restoration of possession to them. It was urged that they were not parties to
suit for specific performance of the contract and could not have been
dispossessed in execution of the decree. Their case was that they had no
knowledge of any alleged prior agreement in relation to the same property
existing in favour of the Decree Holder. It was alleged that the suit for
specific performance and the decree obtained ex-parte against the judgement
debtors were collusive.
The
application under Order XXI Rule 99 filed by the Objectors was opposed by the
Decree Holder stating that with prior knowledge of the agreement of sale, the
Objectors having obtained the sale deeds, the decree of specific performance
can be executed against them in accordance with section 19(b) of the Specific
Relief Act, 1963. Preliminary objection was also raised by the Decree Holder on
the maintainability of application under Order XXI Rule 99 of the Code. It was
urged that since the Objectors did not offer any resistance or obstruction to
the execution of the decree and were not present at the time of its execution
through court, they cannot be held to have been 'dispossessed' physically or
actually within the meaning of Order XXI Rule 99 of the Code.
On the
basis of the pleadings of the Objectors in their application under Order XXI
Rule 99 of the Code and the reply submitted by the Decree Holder to the same,
the executing court framed a preliminary issue on the maintainability of the
application filed by the Objectors. Issues on merits were also framed; as to
whether the suit for specific performance was filed with knowledge of execution
of registered sale deeds and deliberately the registered purchasers were not impleaded
as parties to the suit OR whether Objectors purchased the property with full
knowledge of prior agreement of sale with the decree holder. The executing court
decided all the contesting issues including preliminary objection on
maintainability of application under Order XXI Rule 99 of the Code in favour of
the Objectors. By order dated 02.6.2000, it directed restoration of possession
of the property in dispute to the Objectors.
Aggrieved
by the order of the executing court allowing objection under Order XXI Rule 99
of the Code, the Decree Holder preferred an appeal to the High Court. The
learned single Judge of the High Court of Patna by its impugned order dated
23.4.2001, allowed the appeal of the Decree Holder. The High Court came to the
conclusion that as in execution of the decree, the Objectors were not 'actually
and physically dispossessed', the application under Order XXI Rule 99 of the
Code was not maintainable and the executing court could not have decided the
competing claims of the parties to the property in the course of execution
proceedings. The High Court set aside the order of the executing court and
observed that the Objectors may resort to a separate suit for enforcing their
rights and title to the property. The High Court also observed that if such a
suit is filed, the findings and observations recorded by the executing court
and the High Court would not be binding on the parties nor prejudice their
contentions in that suit that may be filed.
Aggrieved
by the reversing judgment of the High Court, the Objectors are in this appeal.
The connected special leave petition has been filed by the Decree Holder as
they feel aggrieved only by the last direction of the High Court giving liberty
to the Objectors to file a separate suit for their rights, without being
prejudiced by findings and conclusions reached in proceedings under Order XXI
Rule 99 of the Code.
We
have heard both the learned senior counsel Shri P.S. Mishra appearing for the
Objectors and Shri R.S. Suri for the Decree Holder at sufficient length. On
behalf of the Objectors, it is contended that they being in possession under
registered sale deeds and their names having also been mutated in records of Patna
Municipality, the delivery of possession of the land in execution of decree of
specific performance to the Decree Holder was clearly a case of 'dispossession'
within the meaning of Order XXI Rule 99 of the Code.
Reliance
is placed on Brahmdeo Chaudhary vs. Rishikesh Prasad Jaiswal & Anr. [1997
(3) SCC 694]; Shreenath & Anr. vs. Rajesh & Ors. [1998 (4) SCC 543]; Silverline
Forum Pvt. Ltd., vs. Rajiv Trust & Anr. [AIR 1998 SC 1754]; and Tanzeem-E- Sufia
vs. Bibi Haliman & Ors. [2002 (7) SCC 50] The second contention advanced is
that the decree holder had full knowledge of the registered sale deeds existing
in favour of the Objectors and without impleading the Objectors, an ex-parte
decree of specific performance was obtained against the original vendors. It is
contended that the Objectors being subsequent purchasers under sale deeds were
necessary parties to the suit in accordance with the provisions of section
19(b) of the Specific Relief Act, 1963. It is contended that the decree in the
absence of the Objectors who were necessary parties to the suit, is not
executable. Reliance is placed on Ram Sworup Singh vs. Mahabir Mahton [AIR 1960
Patna 235];
Chinna
Vanan vs. Alamelu & Ors. [1975 Vol.I Madras Law Journal Reports 263]; and Vimala
Ammal vs. C. Suseela & Ors. [AIR 1991 Madras 209].
We
need not go into the question whether the Objectors as subsequent purchasers of
the suit properties were necessary parties to the suit for specific performance
based on alleged prior agreement of sale, because both parties plead want of
knowledge of each other's transactions at the time the registered sale deeds
were obtained by the Objectors and at the time of institution of suit by the
Decree Holder.
We
would, first, take up for consideration the main question involved between the
parties as to whether the Objectors could have made application under Order XXI
Rule 99 to the executing court and seek adjudication of their right and title
through the executing court in accordance with Order XXI Rule 101 of the Code
or their remedy lay in filing an independent suit. Order XXI Rule 99 & 101
read as under :- "O.XXI, Rr.99. Dispossession by decree-holder or
purchaser.
(1)
Where any person other than the judgment-debtor is dispossessed of immovable
property by the holder of a decree for the possession of such property or,
where such property has been sold in execution of a decree, by the purchaser
thereof, he may make an application to the Court complaining of such
dispossession.
(2)
Where any such application is made, the Court shall proceed to adjudicate upon
the application in accordance with the provisions here contained.
O.
XXI, Rr.101. Question to be determined.- All questions (including questions
relating to right, title or interest in the property) arising between the
parties to a proceeding on an application under rule 97 or rule 99 or their
representatives, and relevant to the adjudication of the application, shall be
determined by the Court dealing with the application, and not by a separate
suit and for this purpose, the Court shall, notwithstanding anything to the
contrary contained in any other law for the time being in force, be deemed to
have jurisdiction to decide such questions." It is necessary at this stage
to take into account the objects of drastic amendments introduced to the Code
of Civil Procedure by Act No. 104 of 1976.
This
court in the case of Shreenath & Anr. (supra), has compared the unamended
provisions of the Code in Order XXI and the provisions introduced after
amendment. It is noticed that earlier under the Code, third party
'dispossessed' in the execution of the decree was required to institute an
independent suit for adjudication of its right and claims. In order to shorten
the litigations concerning same properties between same and third parties,
claims of third parties to the property in execution are now required to be
determined by the executing court itself in accordance with provisions under
Order XXI Rule 101 with right of appeal to the higher court against such
adjudication treating it to be a 'decree' under Order XXI Rule 103 of the Code.
On the amendments introduced to the Code by Amendment Act of 1976, this Court
observed thus:- 'In interpreting any procedural law, where more than one
interpretation is possible, the one which curtails the procedure without
eluding justice is to be adopted. The procedural law is always subservient to
and is in aid of justice. Any interpretation which eludes or frustrates the
recipient of justice is not to be followed.' In case of Brahmdeo Chaudhary
(supra), the provisions of Order XXI Rule 97 of the Code, as amended, came up for
construction. They read thus:- "O.XXI, Rr.97. Resistance or obstruction to
possession of immovable property.
(1)
Where the holder of a decree for the possession of immovable property or the
purchaser of any such property sold in execution of a decree is resisted or
obstructed by any person obtaining possession of the property, he may make an
application to the Court complaining of such resistance or obstruction.
(2) Where
any application is made under sub-rule (1), the Court shall proceed to
adjudicate upon the application in accordance with the provisions herein
contained." The question raised in that case was whether the Objector
cannot claim adjudication of his claim being third party to the decree under
execution until he is 'actually dispossessed'.
The
argument advanced was that application under Order XXI Rule 97 at the instance
of Objector is not maintainable to the executing court because such application
complaining 'resistance and obstruction' by the third party could be filed only
by the Decree Holder under Order XXI Rule 97 of the Code. It was argued that
the remedy of the third party to the executing court is only after he suffers
dispossession in execution of the decree. Thereafter, he has to complain under
Order XXI Rule 99 and seek adjudication of his claims and rights. This Court negatived
that contention and observed thus :- 'On the contrary the statutory scheme
envisaged by Order XXI Rule 97 CPC clearly guards against such a pitfall and
provides a statutory remedy both to the decree-holder as well as to the
obstructionist to have their respective say in the matter and to get proper
adjudication before the executing court and it is that adjudication which subject
to the hierarchy of appeals would remain binding between the parties to such
proceedings and separate suit would be barred with a view to seeing that
multiplicity of proceedings and parallel proceedings are avoided and the gamut
laid down by Order XXI Rule 97 to 103 would remain a complete code and the sole
remedy for the parties concerned to have their grievance once and for all
finally resolved in execution proceedings themselves.' The case of Brahmdeo Chaudhary
(supra) was relied by this Court in the case of Silverline Forum Pvt. Ltd.,(supra).
It was held that the remedy under Order XXI Rule 99 in execution is available
to a party only on his dispossession but a third party who is resisting or
obstructing the execution of decree can also seek adjudication of his claims
and rights by making application under Order XXI Rule 97 of the Code.
In the
case of Tanzeem-E-Sufia(supra), the third party who was in possession of a part
of premises had filed a separate suit for declaration of its right and title. In
executing proceedings, the Decree Holder in respect of the entire decretal
property, complained of obstruction and resistance to the execution by the
third party.
Even
on these facts, this Court held that the application of Decree Holder required
adjudication under Order XXI Rule 97 of the Code and the application of the
third party also necessitated adjudication of its rights under Order XXI Rule
99 of the Code irrespective of the fact that for part of the property, the
third party had filed an independent suit for declaration of its title to the
suit property.
The
above mentioned decided cases of this Court clearly indicate that the
provisions of Order XXI Rule 97 and 99 have been widely and liberally construed
to enable the executing court to adjudicate the inter se claims of the decree
holder and the third parties in the executing proceedings themselves to avoid
prolongation of litigation by driving parties to file independent suits.
The
word "dispossessed" as used in Order XXI Rule 99 of the Code has been
narrowly construed to be an ouster from actual and physical possession of the
property by several High Courts. See AIR 1954 Mad 516 (519); 1966 (32) Cut. LT
972; and AIR 1978 Goa 48.
Salmond
on jurisprudence explains that the word "possession" is a word of
'open texture'. Its legal meaning has to be ascertained from the context. The
property involved in the present case is open vacant land. Such property is
possessed by a person who has control over the same. This 'control' over the
property means 'power to exclude all others'. The test then for determining
whether a man is in possession of anything is whether he is in 'general
control' of it - maybe that he is not in actual and physical possession or
using the same.
The
Objectors have laid evidence before the executing court to show that after
obtaining by recitals in the sale deeds delivery of possession of the property,
the names of purchasers were also mutated in the municipal's records. Merely
because at the time of execution of the decree through Court Nazir, the
Objectors were not physically present on the property, it cannot be said that
the delivery of possession to the Decree Holder by the court does not amount to
the Objectors' legal ouster or 'dispossession'. The word 'possession',
therefore, has to be given contextual meaning on facts of a particular case and
the nature of the property involved.
In
interpreting the provisions of Order XXI Rule 97 of the Code and the other
provisions in the said order, the aims and objects for introducing amendment to
the Code cannot be lost sight of. Under the unamended Code, third parties
adversely affected or dispossessed from the property involved, were required to
file independent suits for claiming title and possession. The Legislature
purposely amended provisions in Order XXI to enable the third parties to seek
adjudication of their rights in execution proceedings themselves with a view to
curtail the prolongation of litigation and arrest delay caused in execution of
decrees. See Bhag Mal vs. Ch. Parbhu Ram [1985 (1) SCC 61].
The
High Court in the impugned judgment dated 23.4.2001 has construed the word
"dispossessed" under Order XXI Rule 99 of the Code to mean actual and
physical dispossession. The reasoning adopted is that if the expression
'dispossessed' is thus not narrowly construed, 'anybody apprehensive of
dispossession or anybody claiming right although not actually dispossessed can
come within the purview of Rule 99 and there would be flood-gate and a decree
holder who obtained a decree by due process of law would be frustrated in not
getting the fruit of the decree'.
There
is fallacy in the above reasoning. As has been held by this court in the case
of Brahmdeo Chaudhary (supra), a third party resisting or obstructing the
execution of the decree can also seek adjudication of his rights under Order
XXI Rule 97 in the same way as the Decree Holder. If that be so, it seems
illogical that the third party which complains of actual dispossession because
of the delivery of possession in execution to the Decree Holder should not be
allowed to claim adjudication of his rights through the executing court. An
interpretation of the provision which promotes or fulfils the object of the
amended provisions of the Code of curtailing litigation, has to be preferred to
the one which frustrates it. The High Court also lost sight of the fact that
the property involved was a vacant land and it could have been possessed only
by having ownership and control over it. Mere physical absence of the third
party at the time of execution of the decree was not a relevant fact to reject
application under Order XXI Rule 99 of the Code. From the trend and ratio of
decisions of this Court surveyed above, if the Objectors would have been
present at or near the vacant land at the time of execution of a decree and had
offered obstruction or resistance to the execution, they would have been
entitled to seek adjudication of their rights and claims through the executing
court under Order XXI Rule 97. On the same legal position and reasoning even
though the Objectors were not in actual and physical possession of the vacant
land, but as a result of delivery of possession of the land through Nazir to
the decree holder, lost their right and control over the land to put it to
their use, they will have to be treated to have been "dispossessed"
within the meaning of Order XXI Rule 99 of the Code. Such interpretation would fulfil
aim and object of the amended provisions of the Code by allowing adjudication
of disputes of title between the decree holder and the third party in the
executing court itself without relegating them to an independent litigation.
In
view of the discussion aforesaid, in our opinion, the executing court was well
within law in recording evidence and adjudicating the claim of the third party.
The executing court rightly rejected the preliminary objection to the
maintainability of application of the Objectors under Order XXI Rule 99 of the
Code and decided the other issues on merits of their claims arising between the
Decree Holder and the Objectors.
The
High Court in appeal mainly concentrated its decision on the question of
tenability of application under Order XXI Rule 99 at the instance of the
Objectors and having rejected the said application did not in detail deal with
other issues on merits arising between the decree holder and the objectors. The
issues on merits which were liable to be re-examined by the appellate court, as
the first court of facts and law, were :-
(1)
Whether the decree holder at the time of institution of suit had knowledge of
the execution of the registered sale deeds in favour of the Objectors and yet
they deliberately avoided to make them as parties to the suit and thus obtained
in collusion with the vendors an ex-parte decree of specific performance of the
contract; OR
(2)
Whether the Objectors had full knowledge of existence of prior agreement of
sale executed by the vendors in favour of the decree holder and despite such
knowledge they purchased the suit property to frustrate the agreement existing
in favour of the decree holder.
As the
appellate court, having rejected the Objectors' application under Order XXI
Rule 99, has not in greater details gone into the contested issues on merits,
it is necessary to set aside the impugned order of the High Court and remand
the case to it for decision of the appeal afresh in accordance with law.
In the
result, the appeal preferred by the Objectors succeeds and is allowed. The
impugned order of the High Court dated 23.4.2001 is hereby set aside and the
case is remanded to the High Court for deciding the issues on merits in
accordance with law.
The
permission sought by Decree Holder to file the connected Special Leave Petition
CC 8261/2001 is refused.
In the
circumstances, the costs incurred in these proceedings shall abide the final
result of the appeal to be decided by the High Court.
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