In Brief
In this civil appeal concerning property rights and succession, the Supreme Court set aside the High Court's judgment that had reversed the concurrent findings of two lower courts. The plaintiff-respondent had sued to cancel a sale deed, claiming it was based on a forged power of attorney. The High Court had shifted the burden of proof to the defendant-appellant, treating the plaintiff as a pardanasheen illiterate lady entitled to special protection. The Supreme Court held that since the plaintiff never pleaded such status in her original plaint, the High Court's approach was manifestly erroneous. The burden of proof to establish forgery rested with the plaintiff, not the defendant. Accordingly, the appeal was allowed and the High Court judgment was set aside.
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