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Venkatesha v. K.M. Venkatamuniyappa (Since Dead) by His LRs.

Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 705Decided 14 Jul 2026
Civil Appeal No. 8991 of 2026 (arising out of SLP(C) No. 23330 of 2023), Diary No. 41465/2023
Justice Dipankar Datta · Justice Vipul M. Pancholi · Justice Sheel Nagu

Background

A father (Thimmadasappa) sold land identified as Survey No. 1/4 through a chain of sale deeds ending with the plaintiff's purchase in 1973. Separately, a different plot, Survey No. 162, originally temple land, was re-granted to Thimmadasappa in 1982. In 1997, the plaintiff and his immediate seller executed a "rectification deed" changing the survey number on the plaintiff's sale deed from 1/4 to 162, without the original seller Thimmadasappa's involvement. When Thimmadasappa later partitioned Survey No. 162 among his sons (the appellants) in 2005, the plaintiff sued claiming he actually owned that land and that the partition was invalid. The trial court dismissed the suit, but the first appellate court reversed it based on comparing property boundaries, and the Karnataka High Court affirmed that reversal in a second appeal, additionally invoking Section 43 of the Transfer of Property Act on its own.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court restored the trial court's dismissal of the suit. It held the plaintiff never pleaded that Survey Nos. 1/4 and 162 were the same property, and in fact admitted in cross-examination that they were distinct properties: a fatal admission the first appellate court had ignored without giving reasons. It held a "rectification deed" can only correct a clerical error in recording an already-agreed transaction; it cannot be used to unilaterally substitute an entirely different property, especially without the original seller's participation, since no one can convey a better title than he holds (nemo dat quod non habet). The High Court was found to have erred by introducing Section 43 of the Transfer of Property Act on its own motion, a ground never pleaded or argued by either party, and by exceeding the limited scope of interference permitted in a second appeal under Section 100 CPC.

Lesson Learnt

A "rectification deed" can only fix a clerical mistake in an already-settled agreement. It cannot be used to change the actual property being transferred, particularly without the original owner's consent, and a plaintiff who admits under cross-examination that two properties are different cannot later claim they are the same.

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

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