In Brief
Two sisters challenged a 1996 registered sale deed of ancestral agricultural land sold by their brothers without their alleged consent, claiming they only learned of the transaction in 2013 and denying the authenticity of their thumb impressions on the deed. The trial court dismissed the buyers' application to reject the suit as time-barred, holding that limitation was a triable issue. The High Court reversed this, finding the suit barred. The Supreme Court affirmed the trial court, holding that when a plaintiff credibly alleges fraud, forgery, and lack of knowledge, the question of which limitation article applies is for trial, not threshold dismissal. The court emphasized that under Order VII Rule 11(d) CPC, only averments in the plaint matter; defendants' pleas are irrelevant at that stage.
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