Expired leasehold mortgage claims fail where third-party title is registered, possession is proved, and fraud is unsubstantiated.

A bank's claim to possession and declaratory relief over mortgaged leasehold property failed after the lease expired by efflux of time, because the mortgagor's leasehold interest could not survive beyond the contractual term. The respondents' title and possession, derived from registered transfers, public notice, required statutory permissions and a possession decree, were upheld. Allegations of fraud or illegality were rejected as unproved, and the bank's long delay in challenging the transactions, despite prior knowledge, defeated the relief sought. The bank was therefore held not entitled to possession, declaration or eviction.

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Issues: Whether the applicant-bank was entitled to seek possession and consequential declarations in respect of the mortgaged leasehold property after expiry of the lease term, and whether the respondents' title and possession could be displaced on the allegation of fraud or illegality.

Analysis: The property was initially held on lease, the leasehold rights were mortgaged in favour of the bank, and those rights were later transferred through registered transactions to third parties long before the liquidation proceedings were invoked. The original lease expired by efflux of time, and thereafter the mortgagor's leasehold interest could not survive beyond the contractual term. The respondents acquired ownership and possession through transactions supported by public notice, statutory permission where required, and a decree in possession proceedings. The bank had knowledge of the material transactions much earlier, yet no timely challenge was raised. Allegations of fraud were not substantiated by pleaded and proved material, and the delay of about a decade in asserting the claim was fatal to the reliefs sought.

Conclusion: The applicant-bank was not entitled to any of the prayers for possession, declaration, or eviction, and the respondents' possession and title were upheld.

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