In Brief
A private company holding agricultural land under five registered sale deeds purchased from a seller was barred from filing a suit for cancellation of four subsequent fraudulent sale deeds executed by the same seller to other buyers. The seller claimed Section 331 of the U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950 prohibited such civil suits, requiring the dispute to go to the Revenue Court. The Supreme Court upheld the suit's maintainability. Where a recorded tenure holder has clear title and possession, the right to cancel a fraudulent document on grounds of fraud lies with the civil court. Revenue Courts lack jurisdiction over fraud-based cancellation claims. Section 331's bar does not apply when the plaintiff's own title is not in question.
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