KARAM CHAND Vs. PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE plaintiff has filed the present suit against the seven defendants claiming the following reliefs :

(2.) BRIEFLY , the facts leading to the present suit may be thus stated. The plaintiff Karam Chand, obtained a loan of Rs. 1,60,000 from New Bank of India which subsequently came to be merged with the Punjab National Bank, for the purchase of a truck. The truck was purchased by him on February 17, 1987, for a sum of Rs. 2,38,200.60 from Messrs Metro Motors Ambala Cantt. A further sum of Rs. 30,000 was spent by the plaintiff towards the building of the body of the truck and fitting of other accessories, which work was got carried out from Messrs Indian Truck Body Builders, Railway Road, Sirhind on March 20, 1987. Another sum of Rs. 4,000 was paid towards excise duty. For the purpose of running the truck, the plaintiff got the route permit of his brother the late Kishan Chand Sharma, the predecessor in interest of defendants Nos. 3 to 7, in his favour. The truck was registered at No. HIH 2046 in the name of the plaintiff on March 27, 1987. The vehicle was also got insured by the plaintiff for the years 1987 88, 1988 89, 1989 90, 1990 91 and 1991 92.

(3.) SHRI Kishan Chand Sharma, the brother of the plaintiff and predeces sor in interest of defendants Nos. 3 to 7 died on July 16, 1988. Defendants Nos. 3 to 7 taking advantage of the name K. C. Sharma as mentioned in various documents pertaining to the loan and the truck connived with defendant No. 2, the then branch manager of defendant No. 1 bank and applied for the transfer of the truck in their favour by averring that the original registered owner "K. C. Sharma" (Kishan Chand Sharma) had died. Along with the application made to the Registering Authority, Hamirpur, defendants Nos. 3 to 7 had annexed a copy of the death certificate in respect of Shri Kishan Chand Sharma and a "no objection certificate" issued by defendant No. 2 in favour of Shri Kishan Chand Sharma. On the basis of such certificates, the Registering Authority, Hamirpur, transferred the truck HIH 2046 in the name of defendants Nos. 3 to 7. On the basis of such change of registration in their favour, defendants Nos. 3 to 7 on July 13, 1991, forcibly seized and took possession of the truck from Shri Ashok Kumar, the driver employed by the plaintiff. A report in this regard was duly made to the police on the basis of which a case was registered. In order to stall the investigation of the case, defendants Nos. 3 to 7 filed a suit before the Senior Sub judge, Mandi, for per manent injunction for restraining the plaintiff from interfering in any manner with the use of the truck by them as owners thereof. In such suit, being Civil Suit No. 50 of 1991 an interim order was passed on September 9, 1991, in the following terms :