1. It is agreed between the parties that the form of issue No. 4 and placement of its onus had not been in accordance with law. The respondent---plaintiff claimed that the petitioners-defendants' father in his lifetime made the agreement in question through his attorney for selling the land in his favour. Although the petitioners-defendants denied its execution, yet they pleaded in their written statement that they had signed a blank paper in connection with taking a loan of Rs. 4,000 from the respondent. Issue No. 4 was framed as under:- "Whether there has been no agreement to sell between the parties and the alleged agreement to sell is fictitious and illegal, if so, with what effect? OPD"
2. It appears that the issue was so framed because it was thought that the petitioners were admitting their signatures on the agreement concerned. A careful perusal of the pleadings does not convey this impression. The signatures, if any, were affixed by the petitioners on a different paper. The respondent's case conversely was that their father had executed the document through an attorney. In other words, the petitioners' own signatures had no relevance at all and indeed those appeared to have been affixed on some other document. The trial Court was influenced by this circumstance to assume that the signatures on the disputed agreement were admitted and, therefore, it framed the issue negatively calling upon the petitioners to prove whether the same was not executed. The pleadings did not visualize such a frame of the issue. It is recast as under, of course, with onus on the respondent-plaintiff:- "Whether the defendants' father executed the disputed agreement to sell through his attorney in favour of the respondent-plaintiff? OPP."
3. The revision petition is accepted, the impugned judgment and decree are set aside and the case is remanded to the trial Court for disposal after affording an opportunity to the parties to lead evidence for and against the amended issue. Parties shall appear before it on the 25th instant. The record, if here, be sent back forthwith.