Muthukaruppan Samban and Others vs Muthu Samban

Defendants 1 to 5 are the appellants. The plaintiff as the purchaser from one Alagar Samban sued to redeem an usufructuary mortgage dated

8th December 1837 executed by Alagar Samban in favour of the 1st defendant. Defendants 1 to 5 plead a sale by Alagar Samban to the 1st

defendant by an unregistered sale deed dated 6th April 1898 and state that they have been in possession as owners ever since that date and that

the plaintiff''s suit is barred by limitation. The District Munsiff held that the plaintiff was aware of the sale deed in favour of the defendants and the

defendant''s possession thereunder and that he was not entitled to redeem on the strength of the sale deed. He held in effect that though the

plaintiff''s deed was registered, and that of the defendant''s unregistered, the plaintiff was entitled to no priority as he purchased with notice of the

defendant''s title. The District Judge on appeal reversed the decision of the District Munsif on the ground that, as the defendants were already in

possession as mortgagees at the date of the sale deed (Exhibit II) and no fresh possession was given to them, they acquired no title u/s 54 of the

Transfer of Property Act. He also held that a mere assertion of title under an invalid sale deed cannot create prescriptive rights. He was of opinion

that it was not shewn that the plaintiff had notice of the defendants'' unregistered sale deed when he, purchased the property. It is contended for the

appellants that the view taken by the District Judge is erroneous and that the fact the defendants were already in possession will not render the sale

to them invalid. The District Judge relied on Sibendrapada Banerjee v. Secretary of State for India in Council ILR (1907) C. 207 and was of

opinion that the oral sale, even if true, was invalid as the vendee was already in possession of the properties at the time of the oral sale. We are

unable to see why an oral sale with a request by the vendor to the vendee to remain in possession in the capacity of vendee and with absolute

rights should not be sufficient to pass title without recourse to the expedient of the vendee quitting the property one moment and entering upon it at

another. An arrangement by which the legal nature and character of the previous possession is put an end to and subsequent possession treated as

one by the vendee with absolute title is, in our opinion, sufficient to satisfy the requirements of Section 54 of the Transfer of Property Act, In

Kannan v. Krishnan ILR (1889) M. 324 it was held that possession under a mortgage which was followed by an agreement to sell was equivalent

to delivery of possession so as to satisfy the requirements of Section 48 of the Registration Act. In Palani v. Selambara ILR (1885) M. 267 it was

held that an attornment by tenants was sufficient delivery of possession to satisfy the requirements of Section 48 of the Registration Act. In the 13

Madras case above referred to Handley J. was of opinion that the same principle was extended to cases where possession is already with the

purchaser and he retains it under the agreement to sell, So far as the delivery of possession is concerned, there seems to be no difference between

the provisions of Section 48 of the Registration Act and those of Section 54 of the Transfer of Property Act. Section 48 of the Registration Act

requires an agreement or declaration to be accompanied or followed by delivery of possession and Section 54 of the Transfer of Property Act

requires delivery of the property such delivery being by putting the purchaser in possession of the property. In Bai Kushal v. Lakhma Mane ILR

(1888) B 452, it was held that where one of several donees was in physical possession a declaration by the donor to the donee in occupation that

he has parted with the possession is sufficient to validate the gift.

Unless there is something in Section 54 of the Transfer of Property Act which compel us to do so, there is no reason for putting on this section a

construction that would in effect require sales of properties below Rs. 100 to be only by registered instruments in the numerous classes of cases

where the vendee is already in possession as tenant or mortgagee. With due deference to the learned Judges who decided Sibendrapadi Banerjee

v. Secretary of State for India in Council ILR (1907) C 207, we are unable to accept that case as a correct exposition of the provisions of Section

54 of the Transfer of Property Act. The conclusion we have come to is that, if there was an oral sale of the properties, the fact that the vendee was

already in possession would not render the sale invalid if the vendor had by appropriate declarations or acts converted the position of the vendee

as mortgagee into one as purchaser. The difficulty in the present case, however, arises from the fact that no oral sale has been pleaded; on the

contrary the case for the defendants has been that there was an unregistered document evidencing the sale which was accompanied by delivery of

pessession. No issue was raised as to any oral sale having preceded Ex. II, but issues 1 and 2 are framed on the footing that the defendants'' title is

based on a deed of sale coupled with delivery of possession. Under these circumstances we do not think that it is open to the appellants to set up

an oral sale as to which there was no issue or any evidence.

The position, therefore, is that the sale deed relied upon by the defendants is invalid for want of registration as Section 54 of the Transfer

Property Act requires all sale deeds if in writing, to be registered. Section 4 of the transfer of Property Act provides that Section 54 of the Act

shall be read as supplemental to the Registration Act. The effect, therefore, of Section 4 read with Section 54 of the Transfer of Property Act is to

make all sale deeds compulsorily registrabie irrespective of the value of the property. There is, therefore in this case no competition between a

document which is optionally registrabie and. a registered document. The competition is between an invalid and a valid sale deed. It is argued by

the appellant''s vakil that; as the defendants had possession for 12 years before the suit, they acquired title by prescription and that even assuming

that the sale deed in their favour was invalid, it must be taken that their possession was an assertion of absolute title as vendees; The difficulty in

accepting this contention of the appellant''s vakil is that as the sale deed (Ex. II) is required by law to be registered, it is not admissible in evidence

even for the purpose of showing the nature of the appellant''s possession. In K. Subbayya v. K. Maddulatiah (sic) it was held that an unregistered

document is inadmissible to prove the nature of the possession of the person claiming under it. So far as this Presidency is concerned the balance

of authority is for holding that the establishment of title by adverse possession is a transaction affecting Immovable property. If the defendant''s sale

deed cannot be looked into for the purpose of determining the nature of their possession, there are no materials for holding that their admitted

previous possession as mortgagees was altered or that they acquired by prescription absolute title as purchasers..

The second appeal fails and is dismissed with costs.