In Brief
A farmer executed a single deed in 1964 conveying property to his son-in-law for Rs. 5,900 to discharge debts, with a condition to retransfer if the sum was repaid within five years. The son-in-law later refused to retransfer despite repayment demands. The farmer's son sued for redemption. The key issue was whether this was an absolute sale or a mortgage by conditional sale under the Transfer of Property Act, 1882. The Supreme Court held it was a mortgage by conditional sale, applying the statutory presumption for single-document transactions combined with surrounding circumstances: the relationship was debtor-creditor, the amount matched the exact debt, not market value, the farmer retained possession until death, and no mutation occurred. The appeal was dismissed and the trial court's decree was upheld.
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