Registered sale deed treated as outright sale where sham or loan-security plea failed for lack of clear proof.

A registered sale deed is treated as an outright conveyance where its recitals show a completed sale for consideration and delivery of possession. A party alleging that the document was only collateral security for a loan, or otherwise sham or colourable, must prove that plea with clear and cogent evidence; oral evidence and surrounding circumstances may be considered, but the burden remains heavy. On the facts described, the defendant failed to displace the conveyance through revenue entries, possession disputes, or Section 145 CrPC proceedings, while the plaintiff established title through the registered deed and supporting evidence. The title-based claim for possession was therefore upheld and the decree left undisturbed.

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Issues: Whether the registered sale deed was an outright sale or only a document executed as collateral security for a loan and, consequently, whether the plaintiff was entitled to possession on the basis of title.

Analysis: The registered sale deed was admitted, and its recitals supported a completed sale for consideration with delivery of possession. While oral evidence is not wholly excluded and a party may show that a writing is merely a sham or colourable device, the burden to establish such a plea lies heavily on the defendant and must be discharged by clear and cogent evidence. The defendant relied on surrounding circumstances, possession disputes, revenue entries, and proceedings under Section 145 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, but failed to prove that the sale deed was fictitious or that the transaction was only a loan arrangement. The plaintiff, on the other hand, proved title through the registered conveyance and supporting evidence.

Conclusion: The document was held to be an outright sale deed, not a nominal or loan-security transaction, and the plaintiff's title-based claim for possession was upheld.

Final Conclusion: The second appeal was dismissed, and the decree in favour of the plaintiff was left undisturbed.

Ratio Decidendi: A party impeaching a registered sale deed as sham or collateral for a loan must prove that plea by clear and convincing evidence, and in the absence of such proof the registered conveyance prevails as a valid sale.

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