SISTLA YAGNANARAYANA SASTRI Vs. CHILUKURI LAKSHMINARAYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal by deft. 2. against a decree of the Court of the Subordinate Judge of Tenali granting a declaration that a compromise of a prior suit effected as between deft. 1, the widow of the last male owner & deft. 2, who claimed a title adverse to the widow, was not binding on the phis., the reversioners. Mr. Dikshitulu for the appellant raised two main contentions, namely, that the suit was barred by limitation & that the compromise was a bonafide settlement of a dispute by the widow of the last male owner & was therefore binding on the reversioners. There were subsidiary contentions which would be noticed when dealing with these main points.

(2.) The relevant facts have to be stated: Narayanamurthi, a merchant & landowner, died in 1931, leaving his widow, plff. 2. & two sons Lakshminarayana plff. 1. & Anjaneyulu who died after his lather leaving his widow, deft. 1. Narayanamurthi became heavily involved in debts & was adjudicated an insolvent on 28-2-1931 on a petition, I. P. No. 30 of 1830, filed by his creditors on 22-8-1930. On 4-12-1930, the two sons of Narayanamurthi filed a suit for partition, each claiming a l/3rdi share of his properties on the footing that they were joint family properties. A preliminary decree passed on 10-l-1931 was followed by a final decree dated 3-2-1931. Lakshminarayana, pltf. 1, & Anjaneyulu, his brother, obtained possession in December 1931, of the properties allotted to each of them by the final decree. On 30-6-1934 Kushaljee, a creditor of Narayanamurthi, sued on a prepartition debt & obtained a decree in O. S. 390 of 1933 against the sons' shares of the family properties & was taking steps by way of execution. Lakshminarayana, plff. 1, conveyed all the properties he got under the partition decree in favour of his wife. Anjaneyulu died leaving his widow Krishnaveni Amma, deft. 1 who entered into possession of her husband's properties which consisted of 2 acres 30 cents of agricultural land, a separate portion of a house & some sites.

(3.) On 17-1-1936 the .Official Receiver in the insolvency of Narayanamurthi sold for Rs. 1,100/-the right, title & interest of the insolvent in the entire properties to the present deft. 2. who immediately thereafter filed O. S. No. 14 of 1936 on the file of the Court of the Subordinate Judge of Tenali for recovery of possession of the properties sold to him, impleading among others, Lakshminarayana (the present plff .1.) as deft. 1, his wife in whose favour he had conveyed his share of the properties as deft. 5, the widow of Anjaneyulu (the present deft. 1.) as deft. 2, Kushaljee the D. H. In O. S. 390 of 1933 as deft. 3. The suit was filed on the allegation that the properties purchased by the plff. from the Official Receiver were the self-acquired properties of the insolvent Sistla Yagnanarayana Sastri vs. Chilukuri Lakshminarayana and Ors. (30.11.1950 - M... Page 3 of 7 gnanarayana Sastri vs. Chilukuri Lakshminarayana and Ors. (30.11.1950 - M... Page 3 of 7 Narayanamurthi, that the partition decree obtained by the sons against him was fraudulent & collusive & that the sale by the Official Receiver conveyed the entire interest in the properties & not merely a third share of the insolvent. Defts. 1, 2, 3 & 5 among others flled written statements denying the plffs' allegations & repudiating the claim of the pltf. to anything more than the third share of the insolvent. Anjaneyum's widow (the present deft. 1.) then deft. 2, was a minor when the suit was instituted & was declared a major on 2-2-1938. On the same day I. A. 74 of 1938 was filed into court signed by the pltf. (now deft. 2), & deft. 2 (now deft. 1.) praying for a decree in terms of a compromise under which she withdrew her defence & consented to a decree for possession as prayed for by the pltf. & the latter gave up his claim for mesne profits & costs against her. On 3-2-1938 the Court passed an order on I. A. 74 of 1938 in these terms: "Pltf. & defts. 2 & 20 admit Decree In terms." The suit O. S. 14 of 1936 was tried on the merits against the other defts. & was dismissed except with regard to one item of property, the Court holding that the properties purchased by the pltf. were the joint family properties of Narayanamurthi & his sons & that the partition decree obtained by the sons in respect of those properties had been validly passed. The decre in O. S. 14 of 1936 was drawn up on 21-9-1939. An appeal against the decree was dismissed by the District Court on 23-2-1942.