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Virendrabhai Devjibhai Patel v. Keshavbhai Makanbhai and Ors. Etc.

Civil Appeal · 2017 INSC 1066Decided 31 Oct 2017
Civil Appeal Nos. 17478-17479 of 2017
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice R. Banumathi

Background

A civil suit in Surat concerned disputed ownership of a parcel of land, and the trial court had passed an interim injunction in 2007 restraining the defendants from dealing with the property. While the injunction was in force, part of the land was transferred between defendants, and the trial court later found this a willful breach of the injunction, ordering the contemnors detained and the sale deed cancelled. The High Court disagreed, holding the trial court had no power under Order XXXIX Rule 2A of the Civil Procedure Code to cancel a sale deed, which led to these appeals before the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the High Court's view was not entirely correct, since under the terms of the original injunction the defendants could only have validly transferred their undivided share of the property, not a specific portion of it, so the sale deed as executed did breach the spirit of the injunction. Rather than reinstating the trial court's contempt punishment, the Court accepted the defendants' offer to rectify the defective sale deed to reflect only an undivided-share transfer, directed this to be done within a month, and ordered the trial court to then proceed to dispose of the underlying suit expeditiously (preferably within a year). The Court also barred any further alienation of the property pending final disposal of the suit and modified both lower court orders accordingly, finally disposing of the appeals.

Lesson Learnt

An interim injunction restraining dealings with jointly-owned property restricts parties to dealing only in their undivided share, transferring a specific, carved-out portion of land while such an injunction is in force can amount to a breach of the court's order, even if the parties believe they are acting within their rights.

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

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