The Punjab and Haryana High Court opined that the purchase of land from a joint khewat by reference to a specific killa/khasra number confers the status of co-sharer in the entire khewat upon the vendee.
It was held that the person purchasing specific khasra numbers would still be considered a co-sharer in the khewat.
In the present case, the three co-owners sold part of their shares to the Plaintiff and two others by way of specific khasra numbers. Therefore, Plaintiff became the co-sharer and hence, has the right to pre-empt a sale.
Brief Facts:
A suit for possession was filed by the Plaintiff/ Appellant. As per the Plaintiff-Appellant, he was a co-sharer in the suit property as Defendant-Respondent No.3 had sold land to him vide a sale deed. Thereafter, Defendant-Respondent No.3 vide another sale deed sold 12 kanals of land in favour of Defendant-Respondent No. 1 and 2.
The suit for possession was contested by Defendant-Respondent No. 1 and 2 and it was argued that the Plaintiff-Appellant was not a co-sharer.
The suit was decreed by the Trial Court and against this Defendant-Respondent No. 1 and 2 preferred an appeal. The Appellate Court modified the decree and therefore, the present appeal has been preferred by the Plaintiff-Appellant.
Contentions of the Plaintiff:
It was contended that a co-sharer is considered a co-sharer in the entire khewat and not in any specific khasra number. Further, even if the sale deed mentions khasra numbers, the same would be deemed to be the sale of shares in the entire khewat.
Contentions of the Defendant:
It was contended that since Rati Pal, Smt. Kashmiri and Smt. Jayshree were the exclusive owner of the entire khewat, the sale in favour of the Plaintiff-Appellant could not be considered as a sale of share and would be considered a sale of a specific khasra number and hence, the sale in their favour by the Defendant-Respondent No.3 would not be pre-emptable.
Observations of the Court:
The Court analysed judicial precedents regarding the law of preemption. It was opined that the purchase of land from a joint khewat by reference to a specific killa/khasra number confers the status of co-sharer in the entire khewat upon the vendee.
The Bench rejected the contentions of the Defendants-Respondents and held that the person purchasing specific khasra numbers would still be considered a co-sharer in the khewat.
In the present case, the three co-owners sold part of their shares to the Plaintiff and two others by way of specific khasra numbers. Therefore, Plaintiff became the co-sharer and hence, has the right to pre-empt a sale.
The decision of the Court:
Based on the findings, the decision of the Lower Appellate Court was set aside and accordingly, the present appeal was allowed.
Case Title: Ram Avtar Singh vs Jaipal Singh And Ors.
Coram: Hon’ble Justice Alka Sarin
Case No: RSA-221-1992 (O& M)
Advocate of the Appellant: Adv. Mr. Sanjay Mittal
Advocate of the Respondent: Adv. Mr. Ashish Gupta
Read Judgement @LatestLaws.com
Picture Source :
