In Brief
The Supreme Court set aside the High Court and first appellate court's decisions, restoring the trial court's dismissal of the respondents' suit. The case concerned a 1995 decree whereby Bhajan Singh admitted that appellants had acquired rights to his property through a 1986 will and 1994 family settlement. The respondents (Bhajan Singh's daughters) later challenged the decree as null and void, claiming it required registration. The Court held that decrees relating only to the subject matter of the suit are exempt from registration under Section 17(2)(vi) of the Registration Act, 1908. The decree was binding on the deceased, involved no fraud, and heirs cannot subsequently challenge it without vitiating grounds."
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