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Balram Singh vs Kelo Devi

Civil Appeal · 2022 INSC 1011Decided 23 Sept 2022
Civil Appeal No. 6733 of 2022

Background

Kelo Devi (the plaintiff) sued only for a permanent injunction to stop Balram Singh (the defendant) from disturbing her possession of a property, basing her claim on an unregistered agreement to sell dated 23 March 1996. She deliberately did not seek specific performance of the agreement itself. The defendant filed a counter-claim seeking possession. The trial court dismissed her injunction suit and allowed the defendant's counter-claim, but the first appellate court and the High Court both reversed this, ruling in the plaintiff's favour and dismissing the counter-claim.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that because the agreement to sell was unregistered, it was inadmissible in evidence, and while an unregistered document can sometimes be used for a limited "collateral purpose," a plaintiff cannot use it to indirectly obtain a benefit (here, effectively securing possession through an injunction) that she could not have obtained directly through a suit for specific performance. It found the plaintiff had used "clever drafting" (suing only for injunction, knowing a specific-performance claim on an unregistered document would fail) and held both the first appellate court and the High Court had erred in accepting this. It restored the trial court's judgment, dismissing the injunction suit and allowing the defendant's counter-claim for possession.

Lesson Learnt

An unregistered agreement to sell cannot be used as a backdoor route to secure possession or ownership-like protection through a mere injunction suit; buyers relying on such agreements should ensure they are properly registered, or seek the correct substantive relief, rather than trying to sidestep the registration requirement through careful drafting of the relief claimed.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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