Pakistan Case Law
2006 SCMR 702

MUHAMMAD SADIQ represented by Muhammad Sarwar and otherss vs AMIR MUHAMMAD and otherss

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Citation2006 SCMR 702
CourtSupreme Court of Pakistan
Case No.Civil Petition No.1990-L of 2000
Date2004-12-20
Judge(s)Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday and Falak Sher
Authored byKhalil-Ur-Rehman Ramday
ResultLeave refused
AI Summary — generated from this judgment; read the full text below and verify before relying on it.

This matter originated from a dispute over the ownership and possession of land originally purchased by Ghous Muhammad and Amir Muhammad in 1942, which was later allegedly sold to the petitioners via an oral mutation in 1965. The respondents filed a suit for possession, which was decreed by the trial court, reversed by the first appellate court, and subsequently restored by the High Court. The petitioners challenged the High Court's judgment, arguing that the suit was time-barred and that they were protected under the doctrine of ostensible ownership. The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's decision, finding that the suit was within the limitation period because possession followed title in the context of the specific land classification. Furthermore, the Court held that the petitioners could not invoke the protection of Section 41 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, as the respondents' possession constituted sufficient notice to any prospective buyer, and the petitioners failed to demonstrate that they had taken reasonable steps to inquire into the seller's title before the transaction.

Questions settled in this judgment
  • Does possession of land constitute sufficient notice to a prospective buyer to defeat a claim of protection under Section 41 of the Transfer of Property Act 1882?
  • Can a purchaser claim protection under Section 41 of the Transfer of Property Act 1882 without proving reasonable inquiry into the seller's title?
  • In the case of 'Bunjar Qadeem' land, does possession follow title for the purpose of determining limitation in a suit for possession?
Laws & provisions referred
  • Section 41, Transfer of Property Act 1882
suit for possessionlimitation periodostensible ownershiporal mutationbona fide purchasertitle and possessionTransfer of Property Act

' KHALIL-UR-REHMAN RAMDAY, J.--- One Ghous Muhammad and his son Amir Muhammad purchased two Kanals, sixteen Marlas of land from one Manzoor Hussain Shah through two separate sale-deeds i,e, one in the name of Ghous Muhammad for an area of one Kanal sixteen Marlas and the other in the name of his son Amir Muhammad with respect to an area of one Kanal.

The said sale-deeds were registered on 3-6-1942 and according to the said sale-deeds the possession of the said two parcels of land had been handed over to the respective purchasers i,e, Ghous Muhammad and Amir Muhammad.

2. But the same seller is alleged to have sold two Kanals out of the above-mentioned land to the present petitioners/their predecessor-in-interest through an oral Mutation bearing No,2194 sanctioned on 1-8-1965.

3. In the year 1967 i,e, 3-2-1967 the two sons and a daughter of above-mentioned Ghous Muhammad filed a suit in the Court of a learned Civil Judge at Bhakkar praying for possession of the suit-land on the ground that Sadiq etc. Now the petitioners before us had dispossessed them of the same about a week prior to the filing of the said suit.

4. The said suit was decreed through a judgment, dated 19-3-1969 but the said decree was reversed by the learned Appellate Court through a judgment dated 28-7-1969. On a second appeal i,e, R.S.A. No,862 of 1969 the learned High Court through its judgment announced on being filed, 30-5-2000 reversed the judgment and decree of the learned First Appellate Court and restored that of the learned trial Judge and decreed the suit as prayed.

5. Hence this petition.

6. The learned Advocate Supreme Court for the petitioners impugns the judgment of the learned High Court essentially on the ground that the finding of the Honourable High Court that the suit was not barred by limitation was erroneous and further that further finding of the said learned Court that the petitioners were not protected by the provisions of section 41 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 were also not sustainable.

7. Having heard the learned counsel for the petitioners at some length and having examined the available record we find that no exception could be taken to the conclusions reached by the learned Judge in Chambers concurring with the findings of the learned trial Judge.

8. Having considered the effect of the testimony offered by P.W.1 A and P.W.3 as also the statement of P.W.4 and the statements made by the defence .Witnesses i,e, D.W.1, D.W.3 and D.W.4 and being also influenced by the fact that the land in question was "Bunjar Qadeem" being situated in the Abadi Deh and in the circumstances the possession having had to follow the title the learned Single Judge rightly concluded that the possession in question was with the plaintiffs till they were allegedly dispossessed and in the circumstances the suit could not be held to be barred by limitation.

9. In view of these fmdings the learned High Court also concluded that the possession being with the plaintiffs, being a sufficient notice to the prospective buyer, the petitioners-defendants were not entitled to the benefit of section 41 of the Transfer of Property Act especially when no evidence was led by anyone about the reasonable steps having been taken to inquire into the title of Manzoor Hussain Shah vis-a-vis the sale in question had earlier sold the same land to the plaintiffs/their predecessor in-interest.

10. Having thus, examined all aspects of the matter we find that the impugned judgment did not admit of any interference. This petition is, therefore, dismissed. .

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