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Sahu Deoki Nandan v. Narendra Kumar
Summarized Legal Opinion — K.N. Srivastava, J. (Execution First Appeal)
Factual and Procedural Background
This is an Execution First Appeal concerning competing claims to a sum of Rs. 37,000 that remained in court custody after the sale of a house originally owned by Sahu Deoki Nandan.
Key facts and procedural history present in the opinion:
- Sahu Deoki Nandan (judgment-debtor) was the owner of premises in the city of Bijnor. The house was sold on 5-3-1955 in execution of a decree in Suit No. 41 of 1952 and purchased at auction by Narendra Kumar (respondent), subject to prior incumbrances.
- The property had been mortgaged to the District Co‑operative Bank Limited, Bijnor. The Bank filed Suit No. 4 of 1955 to recover the mortgage debt. Narendra Kumar did not pay the mortgage money, and the house was again sold in execution of that decree on 3-12-1968 for Rs. 68,000. The Bank took its due amount; Rs. 37,000 remained in court custody.
- Other applications and suits arose: five creditors applied for ratable distribution (not subject of this appeal); the sons of Sahu Deoki Nandan filed Suit No. 7 of 1955 alleging the property was joint family property and not liable to sale against Sahu personally.
- The Bank sought to implead Narendra Kumar as a defendant in Suit No. 4 of 1955; Narendra objected on the ground that the sale in his favour had not been confirmed and had occurred during the pendency of the suit. The trial court accepted Narendra's objection and rejected the Bank's impleadment application.
- In Suit No. 7 of 1955 an injunction was granted restraining confirmation or delivery of possession: a stay order was passed on 17-6-1965 and modified on 19-10-1955 to restrain Narendra Kumar from taking possession during the pendency of the suit. The sale was later confirmed in favour of Narendra Kumar on 7-11-1955.
- Sahu Deoki Nandan applied in the execution court for the Rs. 37,000 on the basis that he was entitled to it; Narendra Kumar applied that, as auction purchaser and owner, he was entitled to the money. The executing court dismissed Sahu Deoki Nandan's application and directed that Narendra Kumar was entitled to receive the Rs. 37,000. Sahu Deoki Nandan appealed from that order.
Legal Issues Presented
- Whether Narendra Kumar was estopped from claiming the property (and related funds) because of an alleged statement made in Suit No. 4 of 1955 that he had "no concern" with the property.
- Whether the auction purchaser's right to obtain delivery of possession was barred by limitation under Article 134 of the Limitation Act, 1963, because no application for delivery of possession was made within one year from confirmation of sale.
- Whether Section 15 of the Limitation Act (which excludes the time during which an injunction or order restraining institution or execution of a suit continues) applies to an auction purchaser's application for delivery of possession made in the execution proceedings.
Arguments of the Parties
Appellant (Sahu Deoki Nandan) — principal arguments
- The appellant contended that, in Suit No. 4 of 1955, Narendra Kumar had given a statement that he had no concern with the property; that admission should estop him from later claiming ownership.
- The appellant argued that Article 134 of the Limitation Act required the auction purchaser to apply for delivery of possession within one year from confirmation of the sale (7-11-1955), which Narendra Kumar did not do; therefore his right as auction purchaser was extinguished and Sahu Deoki Nandan became owner by adverse possession.
- The appellant further contended that Section 15 of the Limitation Act applied only to suits or applications for execution made by a decree-holder, and not to an auction purchaser’s application for delivery of possession; accordingly, Section 15 would not exclude the period of the injunction from the limitation computation for the auction purchaser.
Respondent (Narendra Kumar) — principal arguments as reflected in the opinion
- Narendra's recorded objection to impleadment in Suit No. 4 of 1955 was that the sale in his favour had not been confirmed and occurred during the pendency of the suit, and therefore he was not a necessary party; he did not state that he had "no concern" with the property.
- Narendra relied on the injunction/order restraining him from taking delivery of possession while Suit No. 7 of 1955 was pending; because that order prohibited him from taking possession, he could not legitimately apply for delivery of possession within the one‑year period prescribed by Article 134.
- Narendra relied on Section 15 of the Limitation Act to exclude from the limitation period the time during which the injunction/order restraining him from taking possession remained in force.
Table of Precedents Cited
| Precedent | Rule or Principle Cited For | Application by the Court |
|---|---|---|
| Jatendra Chandra Bandopadhya v. Rebateemban Das, A.I.R. 1935 Cal. 333 (Division Bench, Calcutta) | The Division Bench observed that "Sec. 15, Limitation Act, however, refers to a suit or an application for the execution of a decree. The application for delivery of possession by the auction purchasers may be treated as an application in execution proceeding but it cannot be treated as an application for execution." | The court noted this authority but observed that the Division Bench did not give reasons for excluding auction purchasers from Sec. 15; the present court rejected a narrow reading and held Sec. 15 should be interpreted to include applications by auction purchasers made in execution proceedings. |
| Siraj-ul-Haq Khan v. The Sunni Central Board of Waqf, U.P., A.I.R. 1959 S.C. 198 (Supreme Court) | The Supreme Court stated that to exclude time under Sec. 15 it must be shown that the institution of the suit in question had been stayed by an injunction or order; the section requires an order/injunction which stays the institution of the suit. | The court applied this principle to find that there was a clear civil court order restraining Narendra Kumar from taking delivery of possession; accordingly, Sec. 15 applies to exclude the duration of that injunction from the limitation period for applying for delivery of possession. |
| Dautsche Asiatesche Bank v. Hira Lal Burdhan & Sons, A.I.R. 1919 Cal. 706 | In that reported case the right to sue was suspended by an external circumstance (declaration of war), not by an order or injunction of a civil court; Sec. 15 was not applied there. | The court observed that this case did not assist the appellant because the suspension of the right to sue in that case was not due to a court injunction/order, and therefore Sec. 15 correctly did not apply to those facts. |
Court's Reasoning and Analysis
The court's reasoning proceeds in distinct steps, applying fact findings and statutory interpretation to resolve the contentions:
- Estoppel contention: The court examined the objection recorded by Narendra Kumar when the Bank sought to implead him in Suit No. 4 of 1955. The recorded objection, the court found, did not state that Narendra had "no concern" with the property; rather, it stated that the sale in his favour had not been confirmed and had occurred during the pendency of the suit, so he was not a necessary party. Because Narendra never made the alleged statement that he had no concern with the property, the court held that the estoppel argument had no force.
- Limitation under Article 134: The court acknowledged that Article 134 of the Limitation Act prescribes one year for an auction purchaser to apply for delivery of possession once the sale becomes absolute. On a literal reading, Narendra had not made an application within one year of the sale confirmation (7-11-1955).
- Effect of injunction/order: The court observed that Suit No. 7 of 1955 included an injunction restraining Narendra from taking delivery of the property until disposal of that suit. Given that the injunction/order prohibited Narendra from taking possession, the court reasoned that if Narendra had nevertheless applied for delivery he would have been in contempt; conversely, refusing to apply would expose him to loss by limitation. This conflict required consideration of Section 15 of the Limitation Act.
- Scope and interpretation of Section 15: The court examined Section 15(1) (exclusion from limitation where institution or execution of a suit has been stayed by injunction or order) and considered whether the phrase "application for the execution of a decree" should be read narrowly (to benefit only the decree-holder) or broadly (to include other applications made in execution proceedings, such as an auction purchaser's application for delivery of possession). The court concluded that an auction purchaser's application for delivery of possession is made within the same execution proceedings and that a narrow interpretation would deny the auction purchaser the benefit of Sec. 15, contrary to legislative intent.
- Treatment of precedents: The court addressed the Calcutta Division Bench authority (Jatendra Chandra Bandopadhya) relied upon by the appellant, noting that it did not provide reasons to exclude auction purchasers from Sec. 15. The Supreme Court decision in Siraj-ul-Haq Khan was cited to emphasize that Sec. 15 requires an injunction or order that stays institution or execution of the suit; applying that principle to the present facts, the court found the injunction in Suit No. 7 of 1955 met the requirement. The Dautsche Asiatesche Bank case was distinguished because there the suspension arose from war, not a court injunction.
- Conclusion of analysis: For these reasons the court found both of the appellant's primary contentions (estoppel and limitation/adverse-possession) to be without force.
Holding and Implications
Holding: The appeal is dismissed. The executing court's order that Narendra Kumar was entitled to receive the Rs. 37,000 held in court custody was upheld. The dismissal was made with costs.
Implications:
- Direct effect: The immediate consequence is that Narendra Kumar remains entitled to the Rs. 37,000 retained by the court after the sale in execution, as adjudicated by the executing court.
- On broader law: The court interpreted Section 15 of the Limitation Act to permit exclusion of the injunction period from the limitation computation for an auction purchaser's application for delivery of possession made in execution proceedings. The opinion therefore rejects a narrow reading that would limit Sec. 15 only to decree-holders; however, the opinion does not expressly state that it establishes a binding new precedent beyond resolving the present appeal.
This summary is prepared solely from the information contained in the provided opinion and does not add facts or legal conclusions beyond that text.
K.N Srivastava, J.:— This is an Execution First Appeal arising out of the following facts:
Sahu Deoki Nandan, judgment-debtor objector, was the owner of a certain premises situated in the city of Bijnor. This house was sold on 5-3-1955 in execution of a decree in Suit No. 41 of 1952 and was purchased by Narendra Kumar, respondent. There were other incumbrances on this property. The purchase was made subject to the prior incumbrances.
Sahu Deoki Nandan had mortgaged this house with the District Co-operative Bank Limited, Bijnor, for a certain amount. The Bank filed Suit No. 4 of 1955 for recovery of the amount due under the, mortgage. The mortgage money had not been paid by Narendra Kumar with the result that the house was sold in execution of this decree on 3-12-1968 for Rs. 68,000/-. The Bank withdrew the amount to it out of this money and Rs. 37,000/-, the balance, remained in court custody.
2. Meanwhile, five other creditors of Sahu Deoki Nandan filed an application for ratable distribution. We are not concerned with that application in this appeal. The sons of Sahu Deoki Nandan filed a suit, No. 7 of 1955, with the allegation that the property was joint family property and was not liable to be sold in execution of any decree which had been obtained against Sahu Deoki Nandan in his personal capacity. The mortgage suit by the District Co-operative Bank had been filed before the house was purchased by Narendra Kumar in the auction. Therefore, an application was made by the Bank for impleading Narendra Kumar as a defendant in Suit No. 4 of 1955. This application was resisted by Narendra Kumar on the ground that the sale in his favour had not been confirmed and the sale had taken place during the pendency of the suit, arid, therefore, he should not be made a party in the suit. This objection of Narendra Kumar prevailed and the application of the Bank for impleading Narendra Kumar as a party was rejected.
3. In the suit, a son of Sahu Deoki Nandan had filed an application for staying the confirmation of the sale in favour of Narendra Kumar. The stay order was passed on 17-6-1965. On 19-10-1955 the stay order was modified and Narendra Kumar, who was a party in Suit No. 4 of 1955, was restrained from taking possession of the house during the pendency of the suit. The sale was thus confirmed in favour of Narendra Kumar on 7-11-1955.
4. Sahu Deoki Nandan made an application in the execution court that he was entitled to the amount of Rs. 37,000/-, which was in the custody of the court, while Narendra Kumar made an application that by the auction sale he had become the owner of the property and, as such, he was entitled to the amount of Rs. 37,000/, which was lying in the custody of the court. The application of Sahu Deoki Nandan did not find favour with the executing court and it was dismissed. It was ordered that Narendra Kumar was entitled to receive that money. It is, against this order that Sahu Deoki Nandan has filed this Execution First Appeal.
5. The first contention of the learned counsel for the appellant was that in Suit No. 4 of 1955, which the Bank had filed against appellant on the basis of the mortgage, Narendra Kumar had given a statement that he had no concern with the property in dispute and, as such, he should not be made a party to the suit. The objection which Narendra Kumar made to the application of the Bank for impleading him as a party has been read over to me. Narendra Kumar did not say that he had no concern with the property. All that he stated was that the sale in his favour had not been confirmed and that the sale had taken place, during the pendency of the suit and, therefore, he was not a necessary party to the mortgage decree and, as such, he should not be impleaded. This objection of Narendra Kumar found favour with the trial court and the application of the Bank to implead Narendra Kumar as defendant was rejected. From a perusal of the objection of Narendra Kumar I find it as a fact that the above contention of the appellant has no force in it. No where even by implication Narendra Kumar mentioned that he had no concern with the property in dispute. The learned counsel for the appellant contended that in view of the admission of Narendra Kumar, he was now estopped from claiming the property as his. As Narendra Kumar never made such a statement that he had no concern with the property therefore, the question of estoppel against him does not arise.
6. The other argument of the learned counsel for the appellant was that the sale was confirmed on 7-11-1955 and, as provided under Art. 134 of the Limitation Act, 1963, the auction purchaser had to make an application for delivery of possession within one year from the date of the confirmation of the sale and because no such application was made by the auction purchaser, therefore, his right as auction purchaser was estinguished and Sahu Deoki Nandan became the owner of the property by adverse possession Art. 134 of the Limitation Act, 1963, reads as below:
134. For delivery of possession by a purchaser of immovable property at a sale in execution of a decree. One year when the sale becomes absolute.
7. Had the matter been so simple, there would have been no difficulty in holding that Narendra Kumar did not make any application for delivery of possession within a year from 7-11-1955 and, therefore, his claim to take the property as auction purchaser was barred by time. But, I find, that in Suit No. 7 of 1955, which the son of Sahu Deoki Nandan had filed, the court had passed an order of injunction that Narendra Kumar was not to take delivery possession of the disputed property which was sold to him, till the decision of the suit. That suit was pending when these applications for the refund of the money were made.
8. The question would, therefore, arise as to whether Narendra Kumar could take delivery of possession in view of the specific order of a civil court that he was not to take delivery of the property purchased by him in an auction in execution of the decree. Had he disobeyed this order, he would have been guilty of disobeying the order of the court, and, therefore, so long as this injunction order against him was subsisting, certainly he had no right to move an application for delivery of possession of the property purchased by him.
9. In this connection, reference can be made to Sec. 15 of the Limitation Act, which reads as below:
“Sec. 15(1). In computing the period of limitation prescribed for any suit or application for the execution of a decree, the institution or execution of which has been stayed by injunction or order, the time of the continuance of the injunction or order, the day on which it was, issued or made and the day on which it was withdrawn, shall be execluded.
(2) In computing the period of limitation prescribed for any suit of which notice has been given in accordance with the requirements of any enactment for the time being in force, the period of such notice shall be excluded.
10. Learned counsel for the appellant contended that Sec. 15 of the Limitation Act would apply only in those cases where a suit or an application for execution of a decree had been stayed by injunction or order of a court. He contended that the application for delivery of possession by an auction purchaser could not come within the definition of “aplication for execution of the decree” and, therefore, Sec. 15 would not come to the aid of Narendra Kumar. I have heard the learned counsel for the appellant at length on this point. An application for execution of a decree is made by a decree holder and all other applications which are made by the decree holder or the auction purchaser or the representatives of the decree holder or even by a judgment debtor are all applications made in the execution proceedings. The question, therefore, would arise that does Sec. 15 of the Limitation Act apply only to the decree holder or his assignee who makes the execution application or even to the auction purchaser. There can be no doubt whatsoever that an action purchaser has to make an application for delivery of possession in the same execution proceeding which started on the basis of the execution application made by the decree holder. He has no right to make such an application separately in a separate proceeding. It has, therefore, to be decided that the expression “in execution of the decree” is to be interpretation narrowly so as to include only a decree holder or his assignee or in a wide sense so as to include other persons who are also entitled to take one or the other advantage in the execution proceedings when limitation is prescribed to their applications also.
11. The learned counsel for the appellant relied on a Division Bench decision of the Calcutta High Court in Jatendra Chandra Bandopadhya v. Rebateemban Das A.I.R 1935 Cal. 333.. In this case the following observation was made by the Bench:
“Sec. 15, Limitation Act, however, refers to a suit or an application for the execution of a decree. The application for delivery of possession by the auctioner purchasers may be treated as an application in execution proceeding but it cannot be treated as an application for execution.”
12. Certainly, it is an application made in an execution proceedings and there is no dispute that this cannot be treated as an application for execution. A perusal of Schedule I of the Limitation Act makes it abundantly clear that Arts. 118 to 135 of the Limitation Act relate to the limitation prescribed for making applications in specific cases. In this very category Art. 134 of the Limitation Act also comes. Therefore, an auction purchaser has to make an application for delivery of possession within one year and this application has to be made in the execution proceeding itself. A harmoneous interpretation has to be given to the sections and articles of the Limitation Act, and, therefore, the words “application for execution” used in Sec. 15 of the Limitation, Act cannot be narrowly interpreted so as to include only a decree holder and his assignee, otherwise an auction purchaser, for whom limitation for making an application for delivery of possession, is prescribed as one year, would not be entitled to the benefit of Sec. 15 of the Limitation Act. In my opinion this could never have been the intention of the legislature to put such a narrow interpretation to Sec. 15 of the Limitation Act.
13. It would be worth while to mention here that the Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court did not give any reason as to why Sec. 15 of the Limitation Act would not apply to an auction purchaser.
14. The other case which was relied upon by the learned counsel for the appellant was a Supreme Court decision in Siraj-ul-Haq Khan v. The Sunni Central Board of Waqf, U.P A.I.R 1959 S.C 198. Their Lordships of the Supreme Court observed as below:
“It is plain that, for excluding time under this section, it must be shown that the institution of the suit in question had been stayed by an injunction or order in other words, the section requires an order or an injunction which stays the institution of the suit. And so in such cases falling under Sec. 15, the party instituting the suit would by such institution be in contempt of court. If an express order or injunction is produced by a party that clearly meets the requirements of Sec. 15.
15. In the instant case, there was a clear order made by a civil court in a suit in which Narendra Kumar was a party that Narendra Kumar was not to take delivery of possession of the property in dispute which he had purchased in the auction sale, till the disposal of the suit. Had Narendra Kumar made such an application, he would certainly have been guilty of contempt of court and if he did not make such an application, would the argument be available to the other party that he did not make an application within a year of the date of confirmation of the sale, as provided under Art. 134 of the Limitation Act, and, therefore, he is not entitled to take delivery of possession and his claim over the property is barred by time. This would certainly be placing an action purchaser like Narendra Kumar in a very awkward position because in one case he is liable for contempt of court and in the other he is liable to, lose his property. Every wrong has a remedy. Any auction purchaser put in this position is entitled to his remedy in a court of law, and in this view of the matter also, I am of the opinion, that Sec. 15 of the Limitation Act fully applies to this case.
16. The other case cited by the learned counsel for the appellant was Dautsche Asiatesche Bank v. Hira Lal Burdhan & Sons A.I.R 1919 Cal. 706..
17. This case does not help the appellant at all. In this reported case the right to sue was not suspended by an order or injunction by a civil court but due to the declaration of war, and, therefore, Sec. 15 of the Limitation Act was rightly not applied to the facts of this reported case.
18. For the reasons given above, I am, therefore, of the opinion that both the contentions of the learned counsel for the appellant have no force in it. The appeal is, therefore, dismissed with costs.
19. Appeal dismissed.
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