Law: Punjab Pre-emption Act (I of 1913)

Section: 15 , 53-A

  Punjab Pre-emption Act (I of 1913)-- ---S. 15---Transfer of Property Act (IV of 1882), S. 53-A---Plaintiffs deceased father agreed to sell plot to `B' for a certain amount out of which he received part amount as earnest money and transferred possession to proposed vendee on which he constructed his house---`M' pre-empted the transaction and got a decree of pre-emption against `B' and in execution thereof got the possession of same-- Plaintiffs, the heirs, of deceased `vendor' brought a suit against `M' and. `B' for avoidance of sale agreement and to recover possession of the plot or in the alternative to recover outstanding balance sale price---Record showed that deceased vendor (plaintiffs' father) did not claim any interest in the plot in question; neither, intervening in the pre-emption suit nor claiming unpaid sale price from `B' or `M'---As a result of successful assertion of pre-emption right, `M' would be deemed to have been substituted for `B' in the sale agreement--Plaintiffs had clearly abandoned the claim for unpaid sale price at the trial of the suit---Strong indications however existed on record to presume that agreed sale price was paid by `B' to deceased vendor in his lifetime because silence of such vendor for a long period spoke volumes against the claim now set forth in the suit---No fault thus could be found with the pre-emption decree and legal result, following therefrom---If plaintiffs were permitted to dislodge the effect of pre- emption decree and to undo all that had been performed under the sale agreement it would be clearly inequitable and would tantamount to assisting the concealed fraud sought to be perpetrated by the plaintiffs. Syed Manzoor Hussain Shah v. Khurshid Ahmad and 4 others 1989 CLC 1372 ref. Transfer of Property Act (IV of 1882)-- ---S. 53-A---Qanun-e-Shahadat (10 of 1984), Art. 114---Civil procedure Code (V of 1908), S. 115---Agreement to sell---Receipt of entire sale price by vendor--Equity----Where plaintiff voluntarily executes a contract of sale, puts the proposed vendee in possession of the property and receives the entire consideration money, there would be…