Chhatradharilal Gangaram Supedar v. Shyamabai Ramsewaklal Agrawal
Madhya Pradesh High Court · Decided on 30 April 1965 · AIR 1966 MP 67 · 1965 MPLJ 627
Headnotes with paragraph references
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 — Section 2(13) — Order XXI Rules 44, 54, 74 and 75 — Growing crops — Movable property — Sale of land in execution — Whether growing crops pass automatically to auction-purchaser — Held, No.
Where land is sold in execution of a money decree, the auction-purchaser does not, merely by purchasing the land, acquire title to the growing crops standing thereon. For the purposes of the Code of Civil Procedure, growing crops constitute movable property and must be specifically attached and sold before title thereto can pass to the auction-purchaser. The sale of the land simpliciter does not carry with it the growing crops unless the crops were specifically included in the sale. (Paras 6–7, 28–29, 47)
Execution sale — Extent of property sold — Determination — Sale proclamation and sale certificate — Evidentiary significance.
The extent of the property and interest passing to an auction-purchaser is a question of fact, or of mixed law and fact, to be determined by considering what property was put up for sale, what the Court intended to sell, what the purchaser had reason to believe he was buying and what he actually purchased and paid for. The sale proclamation is the foundational document for ascertaining the property intended to be sold; the property described therein and in the sale certificate assumes particular significance in determining the extent of the purchaser's title. (Paras 7, 11–12, 24–26)
Order XXI Rules 44, 54, 74 and 75 — Attachment and sale of growing crops — Distinct procedure from that applicable to immovable property.
The Code of Civil Procedure prescribes separate procedures for attachment and sale of growing crops and for attachment and sale of land. Where the execution proceedings concern the attachment and sale of immovable property alone, and the growing crops are neither attached nor included in the proclamation of sale, the purchaser acquires no title to those crops merely by reason of the purchase of the land. (Paras 11, 28–29)
Section 47 CPC — Excessive execution — Growing crops delivered to auction-purchaser though not included in the sale — Remedy before executing Court.
Where the executing Court delivers possession of growing crops to an auction-purchaser although the crops were neither sold nor included in the sale certificate, the judgment-debtor may raise an objection to such excessive execution under Section 47 CPC. The executing Court is competent to enquire into the objection and grant appropriate relief, including restitution or compensation for the crops wrongfully taken. (Paras 16, 43–48)
Execution sale — Earlier decisions based on general property principles — Applicability to sales governed by the CPC.
Decisions founded on the general principle that things attached to the soil pass with the land, or on criminal proceedings concerning possession, cannot be mechanically applied to determine the rights arising from an execution sale governed by the Code of Civil Procedure. The specific statutory classification of growing crops as movable property and the separate execution procedure applicable to them must be given effect. (Paras 8–9, 29–40)
Relevance to Order XXI Rule 74
The judgment expressly recognises that the sale of growing crops is governed by a procedure distinct from that governing the sale of immovable property. Its direct significance to Rule 74 lies in that statutory distinction and in the requirement that the subject matter actually attached and proclaimed for sale must be identified with precision. It does not directly decide the conditions for postponement of sale under Rule 74(2) when the price offered is considered unfair. (Paras 11, 28–29)
