D.P. Mohapatra JUDGMENT
D.P. Mohapatra, J.
1. Leave granted.
2. The three appellants, Hridaya Ranjan Prasad Verma, Manoranjan Prasad Verma and Rajiv Ranjan Prasad Verma are sons of Late Shri Kashi Nath Prasad Verma. They have three other brothers who are not directly involved in the present proceedings. Late Kashi Nath Prasad Verma was the owner of Khasra No. 213, Plot No. 1172, in Village Srinagar, within Siwan Police Station. On his death his six sons succeeded to the property. Appellant No. 1 is a neurosurgeon at Patna; appellant No. 2 is the Manager of Pathar Jliora Tea Gardens in Jalpaiguri and appellant No. 3 is a retired marketing manager of Jay Shree Tea and Industries Ltd., Delhi. Respondent No. 2, Manish Prasad Singh, an advocate, is the secretary of Kanishka Sahkari Grih Nirman Samiti Limited, Sewan, (hereinafter referred to as the Society) a cooperative society engaged in purchasing land from different persons and after developing and dividing it into small pieces selling the plots to different customers. The appellants agreed to sell the land in village Srinagar to respondent No. 2 for a consideration of Rs. 16,00,000. The respondent paid a sum of Rs. 11,00,000 to the appellants by way of drafts drawn in their favour on 7.12.92. The appellants executed a registered sale deed in respect of the land in favour of the Society. It is the case of the appellants that on insistence of respondent No. 2 two other brothers of the appellants signed the sale deed as witnesses. By way of a further safeguard the appellants executed a separate indemnity deed on the same day in which they undertook to indemnify any loss caused to the society on account of any objection which may be raised by any co-sharer against transfer of the land in future. The appellants assert that they have delivered possession of the land to the society on the same day. Another brother of the appellants Priya Ranjan Prasad Verma also executed a sale deed in favour of the society alienating his portion of the land.
3. On registration of the sale deed respondent No. 2 handed over three cheques to the appellants for the sum of Rs. 5,50,000. When the appellants presented the said cheques in the bank, the same were dishonoured on account of insufficiency of amount in the account of the drawer. The respondent No. 2 had issued a separate cheque in favour of Priya Ranjan Prasad Verma which was also dishonoured for the same reason.
4. Prior to the execution of the sale deed Akhil Ranjan Prasad Verma brother of the appellants had filed a suit, Title Suit No. 118 of 1990 for partition alleging inter alia that though the properties left by their father had been partitioned amongst the brothers in 1971 no division by metes and bounds had taken place. On 5.12.1992 on the application filed under Order 39 Civil Procedure Code the learned subordinate judge, Siwan passed an interim order restraining the appellants from disturbing the status quo or transferring the land of Schedule I to the plaint but no injunction was passed in respect of the land described in Schedule-VI of the plaint in which the property in dispute in the present proceeding is included. According to the appellants the plaintiff Akhil Ranjan Prasad Verma did not press his prayer for injunction in respect of the Schedule IV properties. It is the further case of the appellants that between 9.12.92 to 18.12.92 the respondent No. 2 sold portions of the land sold by them to several other pe........