Abdul Ghani vs Mahendra Kumar And Ors. on 18 September, 1978
17. It may be that a stranger to the decree is under no duty to enquire into the merits or into the validity of the decree in pursuance of which a sale is held. A stranger will necessarily be unaware of such matters. In the instant case, the auction purchaser is the own son of the decree-holder and the execution court has held that the money invested in the sale came from the decree-holder. This finding has not been reversed by the court of appeal. It has been held in S.P. Sahul Hamid v. P.M. Abdul Majid, AIR 1964 Mad 252, that burden of proving bona fides lies on an auction purchaser seeking to protect the sale which is concluded in his favour. The lower appellate court has proceeded on the basis that there is a presumption that a person who is not a party to the suit must be deemed to be a bona fide purchaser for value whatever may be the facts of the case, There is no warrant in law for raising such a presumption. In my opinion, the second submission urged on behalf of the appellant deserves to succeed.