Auction purchaser's title documents follow sale certificate, but land covered by a final decree remains protected from release.

A concluded auction sale followed by issuance of a sale certificate ordinarily entitles the auction purchaser to the associated original title documents, and repeated challenges to the mortgage cannot be re-agitated to delay completion of the sale; the guarantor could not approbate and reprobate, so the writ challenge on that aspect was not to be entertained. However, documents relating to land already covered by an earlier final decree in favour of a third party could not be released, because that decree had attained finality and could not be ignored merely by reference to the broader sale description. The auction purchaser's entitlement was therefore recognised generally, subject to the decree-covered land.

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Issues: (i) Whether the auction purchaser was entitled to return of the original title documents deposited before the Debts Recovery Tribunal after sale certificate had been issued, despite pending adjudication in the original application and repeated challenges by the guarantor to the mortgage; (ii) whether the documents relating to land covered by an earlier final decree in favour of a third party could be directed to be released to the auction purchaser.

Issue (i): Whether the auction purchaser was entitled to return of the original title documents deposited before the Debts Recovery Tribunal after sale certificate had been issued, despite pending adjudication in the original application and repeated challenges by the guarantor to the mortgage.

Analysis: The auction had concluded, the sale certificate had been issued, and the Bank was under an obligation to hand over the title deeds to complete the sale formalities. The guarantor had repeatedly raised and unsuccessfully pursued the same objection regarding the validity of the mortgage in earlier proceedings, including proceedings under the SARFAESI Act, and had also made admissions consistent with the existence of the mortgage. The Court held that the guarantor could not be permitted to approbate and reprobate or to prolong concluded sale proceedings by repeating the same challenge in successive proceedings. The High Court ought not to have entertained the writ petition on that aspect.

Conclusion: The auction purchaser was entitled to return of the original documents, subject to the limited exception relating to the third-party decree land.

Issue (ii): Whether the documents relating to land covered by an earlier final decree in favour of a third party could be directed to be released to the auction purchaser.

Analysis: A competent civil court had already passed a decree in favour of the third party in respect of the specified land, and that decree had attained finality. The Court held that such title could not be ignored merely because the sale certificate referred to the broader survey extent. Until the pending original application is finally decided, the title documents for the decree-covered land could not be released.

Conclusion: The original documents relating to the land covered by the final decree were not to be released to the auction purchaser at this stage.

Final Conclusion: The appeal was allowed in part by restoring the auction purchaser's entitlement to the title documents generally, while protecting the portion of the property covered by the earlier final decree and leaving all remaining issues open for determination in the pending original application.

Ratio Decidendi: A concluded auction sale followed by issuance of a sale certificate ordinarily entitles the auction purchaser to the associated title documents, and a party that has repeatedly failed to sustain a mortgage challenge cannot endlessly re-agitate the same objection; however, property already covered by a subsisting final decree of a competent court cannot be treated as freely transferable until that decree is displaced in law.

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