SURINDER PAL SHARMA Vs. RAJ KUMARI & ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Respondent no.1 is on caveat. I have heard the counsels for the parties with respect to the appeal itself and therefore I am proceeding to dispose of the Regular First Appeal filed under Section 96 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC).

(2.) This RFA is filed by the defendant no.1 in the suit impugning the judgment of the trial court dated 17.1.2018 by which the trial court has decreed the suit filed by the respondent no.1/plaintiff for partition with respect to the suit property bearing no. 26, Duplex Flat, Gur Mandi, Delhi-07 (hereinafter referred to as suit property) by passing a preliminary decree holding that the respondent no.1/plaintiff is the owner of 1/4th share in the suit property. The balance total 3/4th share would be of 1/4th share of the appellant/defendant no.1, the legal heirs of late Smt. Santosh Rani who was the widow of the brother of the respondent no.1/plaintiff as also the appellant/defendant no.1, and the remaining 1/4th share would be of one other daughter Smt. Puran Devi and who was sued as defendant no.2 in the suit and is the respondent no.2 in the present appeal. It may be noted that the defendant nos. 2 and 3 namely Smt. Puran Devi and Smt. Santosh Rani (since deceased) did not contest the suit i.e they did not file their written statement nor they led any evidence in the suit.

(3.) Respondent no.1/plaintiff filed the subject suit pleading that the suit property was originally owned by the father Sh. Harbans Lal who expired in the year 1965 and on the death of the father the mother Smt. Suhagwanti became the exclusive owner of the suit property. As per the respondent no.1/plaintiff, Smt. Suhagwanti died intestate on 10.10.1999 and consequently it was pleaded that each of the four siblings, being the four children of Sh. Harbans Lal and Smt. Suhagwanti, would inherit 1/4th share each in the suit property. A decree for partition, injunction, rendition of accounts etc was prayed in terms of the following prayer clauses of the plaint:-