RATTAN CHAND MEHTA Vs. JASWANT RAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PARTITION of House No. II-O/15, Lajpat Nagar-II, New Delhi comprising of lease hold land admeasuring 200 sq yds and a single storied structure existing thereon is claimed in the present suit. The parties, particularly, the plaintiff and the defendant No. 1 were found to be at issues as to the share of the respective parties in the said property. Objection was also raised that the land underneath the property being lease hold the property could not be partitioned. Issues were framed on the pleas raised. However, during the hearing on the said issues on 20th August, 2008 the counsel for all the parties submitted that subject to the decision on the shares, considering the nature of the property, instead of a preliminary decree, a final decree of partition by sale of the property with right to all the parties to bid for the property be passed.

(2.) IT is the admitted position that the house belonged to Shri Mangu Ram mehta. The plaintiff, the defendant No. 1 and the defendant No. 3 are the sons of shri Mangu Ram Mehta. The defendant No. 2 is the son of yet another son of Shri mangu Ram Mehta. The defendant No. 1 also died during the pendency of the suit and his legal heirs were substituted and amended memo of parties dated 7th april, 2005 filed. To avoid any further inconvenience to the parties, it is also recorded that though the defendant No. 1 was named as Jaswant Ram and continues to be named so in the suit but he, in his written statement, stated that his name was Jaswant Rai Mehta and not Jaswant Ram. The plaintiff in replication thereto stated that in the lease deed issued by the Landdo the name of the defendant No. 1 was mentioned as Jaswant Ram though in the mutation letter his name was mentioned as Jaswant Rai Mehta. This fact is being mentioned so that in sale or in execution or working of the decree, no difficulties are encountered for this reason.

(3.) IT is also not in dispute that Shri Mangu Ram Mehta, owner of the house, died on 24th December, 1959 leaving the plaintiff, defendant No. 1, defendant No. 3 and the father of the defendant No. 2 as his four sons, a widow and two daughters and the son of a predeceased daughter as his only legal heirs. None has claimed that Shri Mangu Ram Mehta left any Will. As such, in accordance with the Hindu Succession Act, on his demise the house aforesaid devolved on his widow, his four sons and his two daughters and the son of the predeceased daughter in equal shares.