TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2003 (9) TMI 795
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....the office of the Block Land Reforms Officer that defendant No. 1 - Krishna Mohan Kul (appellant No. 1 in the present appeal) had filed a registered deed of settlement dated 11.7.1970 it was necessary to get the deed declared to be void and invalid as the same was a forged document. There was no existence of the witnesses whose names appeared in the said deed which was created to grab the property of the plaintiffs. It was in this background alleged that the deed of settlement was created by Krishna Mohan Kul (defendant No. 1) with oblique motive. The contesting defendants took the stand by filing written statements that the deed was perfectly in order and no illegality was attached thereto. " Before the trial Court several witnesses were examined to contend that the executant was more than 100 years of age at the time of alleged execution of the deed in question. He was paralytic and his mental and physical condition were not in order. He was practically bed ridden with paralysis and though his left thumb impression was stated to be affixed on the document, there was no witness who could substantiate that in fact he had put his thumb impression. That being the position, the dee....
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....ns were injuncted permanently from disturbing the possession of the plaintiffs in the suit property. Learned counsel for the appellants submitted that the High Court should not have interfered with the concurrent findings recorded by the trial Court and the first Appellate Court while dealing with an appeal under Section 100 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (for short the 'CPC'). It was submitted that there is no material to conclude that the executant was not in a fit physical and mental state at the time of execution of the deed. That being so, the High Court should not have interfered with the conclusions arrived at by the trial Court and the first Appellate Court. In response, learned counsel for the respondents (plaintiffs 1, 2 and 3) submitted that the High Court has rightly interfered with the lower Court's orders as the conclusions were totally on misreading of the provisions of law. The High Court rightly noticed that onus was wrongly placed on the plaintiffs to prove validity or otherwise of the deed of settlement. We shall first deal with the question relating to jurisdiction of the High Court to interfere with the concurrent findings of fact. Re....
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....ally ignored the relevant materials and recorded a completely erroneous finding that there was no material regarding age of the executant when the document in question itself indicated the age. The Court was dealing with a case where an old, ailing illiterate person was stated to be the executant and no witness was examined to prove the execution of the deed or putting of the thumb impression. It has been rightly noticed by the High Court that the courts below have wrongly placed onus to prove execution of the deed by Dasu Charan Kul on the plaintiffs. There was challenge by the plaintiffs to validity of the deed. The onus to prove the validity of the deed of settlement was on defendant No. 1. When fraud, mis-representation or undue influence is alleged by a party in a suit, normally, the burden is on him to prove such fraud, undue influence or misrepresentation. But, when a person is in a fiduciary relationship with another and the latter is in a position of active confidence the burden of proving the absence of fraud, misrepresentation or undue influence is upon the person in the dominating position, he has to prove that there was fair play in the transaction and that the apparen....
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....re a person gains a great advantage over another by a voluntary instrument, the burden of proof is thrown upon the person receiving the benefit and he is under the necessity of showing that the transaction is fair and honest. In judging of the validity of transactions between persons standing in a confidential relation to each other, it is very material to see whether the person conferring a benefit on the other had competent and independent advice. The age or capacity of the person conferring the benefit and the nature of the benefit are of very great importance in such cases. It is always obligatory for the donor/beneficiary under a document to prove due execution of the document in accordance with law, even de hors the reasonableness or otherwise of the transaction, to avail of the benefit or claim rights under the document irrespective of the fact whether such party is the defendant or plaintiff before Court. It is now well established that a Court of Equity, when a person obtains any benefit from another imposes upon the grantee the burden, if he wishes to maintain the contract or gift, of proving that in fact he exerted no influence for the purpose of obtaining it. The pro....