Benami bar and plaint rejection depend on pleadings as a whole, not isolated averments, where facts need evidence.

A plaint cannot be rejected under Order 7 Rule 11(d) merely because isolated averments may suggest a benami element if the pleadings, read as a whole, disclose a broader basis of claim. Here, the suit was founded not only on the sale deed but also on subsequent inventory proceedings and the alleged accrual of cause of action in 2017, so the applicability of Section 4 of the Prohibition of Benami Transactions Act depended on disputed facts, including the plaintiffs' knowledge of the sale deed and the nature of their claim. The objection was therefore left for trial and evidence.

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Issues: Whether the plaint was liable to be rejected under Order 7 Rule 11(d) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 on the ground that the suit was barred by Section 4 of the Prohibition of Benami Transactions Act, 1988.

Analysis: The pleadings, read as a whole, showed that the suit was founded not merely on the sale deed of 29.3.1993 but also on the subsequent inventory proceedings and the alleged accrual of cause of action in September 2017 when the plaintiffs approached the competent authority for mutation. The statements in paragraphs 7 and 8 of the plaint, regarding payment of consideration by respondent no. 2, did not by themselves establish that the plaintiffs were asserting ownership solely on a benami basis. Whether the plaintiffs had knowledge of the sale deed particulars throughout, and whether the ingredients of Section 4 of the Prohibition of Benami Transactions Act, 1988 were satisfied, were matters requiring evidence and trial.

Conclusion: The plaint was not liable to be rejected at the threshold under Order 7 Rule 11(d) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, and the objection based on the Prohibition of Benami Transactions Act, 1988 was correctly left for adjudication on evidence.

Ratio Decidendi: A plaint cannot be rejected under Order 7 Rule 11(d) merely because isolated averments may suggest a benami element if the plaint, read as a whole, discloses a broader basis of claim and the applicability of the statutory bar depends on facts that require evidence.

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