Execution sale relief under Order 21 Rule 89: substance can prevail over form when statutory deposits are timely made.

Under Order 21 Rule 89 CPC, a judgment debtor's memo or objection may be treated as a valid application to set aside an execution sale if it clearly shows the intention to seek that relief and the requisite deposits toward the purchaser's compensation and decretal amount are made within time. The Supreme Court stated that the form of the application is not prescribed, and a wrong mention of the provision or absence of formal terminology does not defeat substantive compliance. Once the statutory deposits are timely made and the application is allowed, Rule 92 makes setting aside the sale mandatory.

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Issues: Whether the judgment debtor's objection memo and deposit of the decretal amount and purchaser's compensation could be treated as an application under Order 21 Rule 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 so as to warrant setting aside the execution sale.

Analysis: Order 21 Rule 89 permits a judgment debtor to seek setting aside of a sale on depositing the amount payable to the purchaser and the decretal amount specified in the proclamation. Order 21 Rule 92 makes setting aside of the sale mandatory once the required deposit is made within time and the application is allowed. The form of the application is not prescribed, and a memo or objection containing an implicit prayer to set aside the sale can satisfy the requirement. Where the statutory deposits have been made and the substance of the request is clear, a mere absence of formal terminology or wrong mention of the provision does not defeat the relief.

Conclusion: The objection memo was rightly treated as an application under Rule 89, the requisite deposits were made within time, and the sale ought to have been set aside.

Final Conclusion: The sale set aside by the executing court was restored, and the judgment debtor succeeded in challenging the reversal of that order.

Ratio Decidendi: For setting aside an execution sale under Order 21 Rule 89, substance prevails over form; if the judgment debtor makes the requisite deposits within time and files a memo or objection clearly showing the intention to have the sale set aside, that filing may be treated as a valid application and the sale must be set aside under Order 21 Rule 92.

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