A 50-year-old dispute involving the execution of a civil suit | 🅜🅛🅢🅐(मालसा)™

A 50-year-old dispute involving the execution of a civil suit for the recovery of Rs 3,000 finally came to an end Tuesday after five rounds of litigation, with the Supreme Court rejecting the petition that sought to prevent the recovery.

The dispute began in 1971 when a woman named Rama Ravi Devi from West Bengal’s Bongaon district filed a civil suit in a munsif court against Sasadhar Biswas for the recovery of Rs 3,000. She won the suit in 1974, and Biswas was asked to pay the amount back in six installments.

However, he was unable to pay it back and Devi filed a petition for the execution of the order, asking for an attachment of Biswas’ property measuring 7,450 sq. ft, equivalent to the amount she was owed. A sale proclamation was then issued in July 1975, which was challenged by Biswas on the ground of material irregularity and fraud.

Biswas’ challenge to the sales proclamation of his property was dismissed in September 1975. Four years later, the plot was put up for auction and two brothers, Sachindra Nath Mukherjee and Dulal Kanti Mukherjee bid the highest on it, offering Rs 5,500 for the land.

What followed was a 50-year-long dispute, carried on by Biswas and subsequently by his legal heirs for a stay on this sale, spanning civil courts, the Patna High Court and eventually the Supreme Court.