Jang Singh v. Brijlal and Ors.

HwAYATULLAll J.-This appeal with the spe­ cial leave of this Court arises out of execution of a decree for pre-emption passed in favour of ihe appe­ llant Jang Singh. By the order under appeal the High Court has held that Jang Singh had not depo­ sited the full amount as directed by the decree within the time allowed to him and his suit for pre-emption must therefore be ordered to be dismissed and also the other proceedings arising therefrom as there was no decree of which he could ask execution. The facts of the case are simple. Jang Singh filed a suit for pre-emption of the sale of certain lands against Brij Lal the first respondent (the ven­ dor), and Bhola Singh the second respondent (the vendee) in the Court of Sub-Judge !st Class, Sirsa. On October 25, 1957, a compromise decree was pass­ ed in favour of Jang Singh and he was directed to .. +- ·"'-'* 2 s.c.R.. SUPREME COURT k.EPORTS i47 deposit Rs. 5951 less Rs. 1000 already deposited by him by May 1, 1958. The decree also ordered that on his failing to make the deposit punctually his suit would stand dismissed with costs. On January (i, 1958, Jang Singh made an application to the Sub Judge, Sirsa, for making the deposit of the balance of the amount of the decree. The Clerk of the Court, which was also the executing Court, prepared a challan in duplicate and handed it over with the application to Jang Singh so that the amount might be deposited in the Bank. In the challan (and in the order passed on the application, so it is aHeged) Rs. 4950 were mentioned instead of Rs. 4951. Jang Singh took the challan and the application and made the deposit of the wrong balance the same day and received one copy of the challan as an acknowledge-, ment from the Bank. In May, 1958, he applied for and received an order for possession of the land. It was reported by the Naib Nazir that the entire amount was deposited in Court. Bhola Singh then applied on May 25, 1958, to the Court for payment to him of the amount lying in deposit and it was reported by the Naib Nazir on that application that Jang Singh had not deposited the correct amount and the deposit was short by one rupee. Bhola Singh applied to the Court for dismissal of Jang Singh's suit, and for recall of all the orders made in Jang Singh's favour. The Sub Judge, Sirsa, accepted Bhola Singh's application observing that in pre-emption cases a Court had no power to extend the time fixed by the decree for payment of the price and the pre­ emptor by his failure to deposit the correct amount had incurred the dismissal of the suit under the decree. He ordered also the reversal of the earlioc orders passed by him in favour of Jan~ Singh and direc' ted that possession of the fields be restored to the opposite party. Jang Singh appealed agail'lst that order. The 1963 iang Singh v. HriJlal llido_yalultah J. - 196;! J•'lft Sinth v. Rrijlli Hiioy.cJolfalr J, •. '" .... . ....... ....·--· 148 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [l!Ui-l] VOL District Judge recorded the evidence oft he Execution Clerk, the Revenue Accountant, Trrasurv OHice and Jang Singh. He also examin<·d Bhola Siugh. The learned District Judge held that the record of the case showed that 011 the day the rasc was compro­ mised and the decree w JS passed Jang Singh was not present and did not know the exact decrctal amount. The learned District Judge assumed Lhat it was the duty of Jang Singh lo be puuctual and to find out the exact amount before he made the deposit. He, however, held that as .Jang Singh had }pp roached the Court with an application intending to make the deposit to be ordered by the Court, and the Court and its clerk made a mistake by ordering him to deposit an amount which was less by one rupee, Jang Singh was excused in as much as the respousibility was shared by the Court. The learned District .Judge, therefore, ·held that this was a case in which Jang Singh deserved to be relieved and he came to the conclusion that Jang Singh was prevented from depositing the full amount by the act of the Court. He concluded "thus tl1e deposit made w?s a suffi­ cient compliance with the terms of the decree". The order of the Sub Judge, Sirsa dismissing the suit was set aside. Bhola Singh appealed to the High Court. This appeal was heard by a learned single.Judge who was of the opinion that the decree which was passed was not complied with and that under the law the time fixed under the decree for the payment or the decre­ tal amount in pre-emption cases could not be exten­ ded by the Court. He also held that the finding that the short deposit was due to an act of the Court was unsupported by evidence. He accordingly set a.side the decision of the leanird District .Judge and restored that of the Sub-Judge, Sirsa. The facts of the case almost speak for them- selves. A search was made for the application on - 2 S.C.R. SUPREME COURT REPORTS 149 which the order of the Court directing a deposit of Rs. 4950 was said to be passed. That application remained untraced though the District Judge ad­ journed the case more than once. It is, however, quite clear that the challan was prepared under the Court's direction and the duplicate challan prepared by the Court as well as the one presented to the Bank have been produced in this case and they show the lesser amount. This challan is admittedly prepared by the Execution Clerk and it is also an admitted fact that Jang Singh is an illiterate person. The Execution Clerk has deposed to the procedure which is usually followed and he has pointed out that first there is a report by the Ahlmed about the amount in deposit and then an order is made by the Court on the application before the challan is pre· pared. It is, therefore, quite clear that if there was an error the Court and its officers largely contributed to it. It is no doubt true that a litigant must be vigilant and take care but where a litigant goes to Court and asks for the assistance of.the Court so that his obligations under a decree might be fulfilled by him strictly, it is incumbent on the Court, if it does not leave the litigant to his own devices, to ensure that the correct information is furnished. If the Court in supplying the information makes a mistake the responsibility of the litigant, though it does not altogether ce11se, is at least shared by the Court. If the litigant acts on the faith of that in­ formation the Courts cannot hold him responsible for a mistake which it itself caused. There is no higher principle for the guidance of the Court than the one that no act of Courts should harm a litigant and it is the bounden duty of Courts to see that if a person is harmed by a mistake of the Court he should be restored to the position he wou Id have occupied but for that mistake'. This is aptly summed up in the maxim : "A ctn.< curiae nemincm gravabit". In the present case the Court coulcl have orclerecl 1Yf3 /lttl: Sl;t:h v. Bt:{jlal Hidayatullah J; 1963 Jan.~ Si111h v. 8n1[1l .... ':- lM~·~----' . . -· ...... , .. : _,._ •.. -· ~ ........ --· 150 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1964) VOL. Jang Singh to make the deposit after obtaining a certified copy of the decree thus leaving it to him to find out the correct amount and make the correct deposit. The Court did not do this. The Court, on the other hand, made an order and through its clerk prepared a ehallan showing the amount which was required to be deposited. Jang Singh carried out the direction in the order and also implicit in the challan, to the letter. There was thus an error committed bv the Court which the Court must undo and which c~nnot be undone by shifting the blame on Jang Singh. To dismiss his suit because Jang Singh was also partly negligent docs not exonerat~ the Court from its responsibility for the mistake. Jang Singh was expected to rely upon the Court · and its officers and 10 act according lo their dir~c­ tions. That he did so promptly and fully is quite clear. There remaius, thus, the wrong brlief induc­ rd in his mind by the action of the Court that all he ha<l to pay was ,rated trnly in the challan and for this rrror the Court must take full responsibility and it is this error which the Court must set right before the suit of.fang Singh can be ordered to be dismissed. The learned single Judge of the High Court co11sidercd the case as if it was one of extension of tiu1c. He rcvcrs~d the finding give11 by the District Judge that the application made by Jang Singh did not mention any amount and the oflice reported that only Rs. 4!l50 were due. The learned single .Judge exceed· cd his jurisdiction then~. It is quite clear that once the finding of the District .Judge is accepted-and it proceeds on evidence. given by Jang Singh and the Execution Clerk-the only conclusion that can be reached is that Jang Singh relied upon what the Court ordered and the error, if any, wa~ substantially the making of the Court. In these circumstances, following the well-accepted principle that th~ act of Court should harm no one, the District .J11d~e was right in reversing the decision of the Subjudg-e, Sirsa. The District Judge was, however, in error in ....... - 2 S.C.R. SUPREME COURT REPORTS 101 holding that the decree was "sufficiently complied with". That decree could only be fully ,complied with by making the deposit of Re. 1 which the District Judge ought to have ordered. In our opinion the decision of the learned single Judge of the High Court must be set aside. The mistake committed by the Court must be set right. The case must go back to that ~tage when the mistake was committed by the Court and the appellant should be ordered to deposit the additional rupee for payment to Bhola Singh. If he fails to make the deposit within the time specified by us his suit may be dismissed but not before. We may point out however that we are not deciding the question whether a Court after passing a decree for pre-emption can extend the time originally fixed for deposit of the decretal amount. That question does not arise here. In view of the mistake of the Court which needs to be righted the parties are relegated to the position they occupied on January 6, 1958, when the error was committed by the Court which error is being rectified by us nunc pro t-1;,nc. The appeal is, therefore, allowed. The appe­ llant is ordered to deposit Re. 1 within one month from the date of the receipt of the record in the Court of the Sub-Judge, Sirsa. In view of the special circumstances of this case there shall be no order about costs throughout. Appeal allou:ed. /§63 ~- Jang Singh . v. Br~jlal Hi~yaruU11k J.