No Need to Call Attesting Witness for Registered Sale Deed Unless Execution Denied: Punjab And Haryana High Court

On September 18, 2024, the Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed the second appeal in Gurmail Singh v. Raswinder Kaur and another. The appellant sought to nullify two registered sale deeds, alleging fraud and misrepresentation. The court held that the appellant failed to prove the allegations, and no substantial question of law arose in the appeal.

The dispute involved land owned by Pritam Singh, who allegedly executed two sale deeds (Nos. 518 and 519) in favor of defendant No. 1 (Raswinder Kaur). Gurmail Singh, the appellant, claimed that the deeds were fraudulently obtained and that Pritam Singh had intended to sign a lease agreement, not a sale deed. The appellant further asserted that Pritam Singh had bequeathed the land to him via a Will in 2007. The trial court and first appellate court dismissed the suit, upholding the validity of the sale deeds.

The key legal issue revolved around proving allegations of fraud and misrepresentation. The court emphasized that fraud must be proven "beyond doubt," a standard the appellant failed to meet. The court also considered whether the absence of attesting witnesses to the sale deeds invalidated their execution.

The appellant relied on the testimony of PW3 (Santokh Singh), who admitted under cross-examination that he had no personal knowledge of the execution of the sale deeds. This testimony was deemed insufficient to support the fraud claim.

Under Section 68 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, registered documents, other than Wills, do not require attesting witnesses unless the execution is specifically denied. Since Pritam Singh, the executant, never contested the sale deeds during his lifetime, the court held that there was no need for attesting witnesses to prove the execution of the sale deeds.

The court upheld the concurrent findings of the lower courts, ruling that the appellant failed to substantiate the claims of fraud. The appeal was dismissed, affirming the validity of the sale deeds.

Date of Decision: September 18, 2024