SANTHA BAI Vs. PONNAMMA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant is the defendant who lost the case before the first appellate Court. The respondents/plaintiffs, who are mother and daughter filed the suit O.S.No.205 of 1982 to set aside the gift deed dated 5.3.1982 executed by S.Subramania Konar, who is the husband of the first plaintiff and father of the second plaintiff in favour of the defendant, the appellant herein and as per which he conveyed the suit property to the defendant.

(2.) The parties are described as per their rankings in the suit.

(3.) The suit property originally belonged to Subramania Konar, son of Subramania Konar of Medayum Veedu, Thoppavilakom, Attoor village, who is the husband of the first plaintiff and the father of the second plaintiff. He was living in the house with his first wife the first plaintiff and the second plaintiff was living with her husband Sivathanu in Trivandrum, where he was employed. The defendant who belongs to scheduled caste is a native of Eraniel village and she settled in Venniyaravayalkarai near the suit property. She got mortgage of the suit property from Subramania Konar in 1959, which was assigned to one Yesudasan from whom the plaintiff got an assignment and came into possession on 1.9.1981. Subramania Konar got acquainted with the defendant and her parents and on such acquaintance, the defendant managed to purchase 10 cents of paddy field from him in 1981 and as such, there have been some contact between them. Subramania Konar was suffering from ailments for the last few years and he was treated by the second plaintiff in Trivandrum. He was physically and mentally not all right and using the same and by exercising undue influence and coercion, the defendant fraudulently got the gift deed dated 5.3.1982 executed in her favour in respect of the suit property. In the gift deed it is mentioned that the defendant is his daughter born through his second wife Nesam. In fact the husband of Nesam is alive and that marriage is subsisting. Further, as per recitals of the gift deed, the donor had no wife or children. The gift deed was registered in the house of the defendant, in which Subramania Konar had put his thumb impression only instead of signing. The attestors to the document are close associates of the defendant. The gift deed was not accepted by the defendant and it did not come into force. When Subramania Konar visited the defendant's house, fell ill and while he was semi-conscious, the gift deed was obtained. The defendant refused to send him to his house and he died on 13.3.1982. Subramania Konar was cremated by the plaintiffs in his house after some difficulty. Since the attempts to recover the suit property fails, the suit has been filed.