VISHWAMBHAR P.GAONKAR Vs. VISHWANATH SINAI KHANDEPARKAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Mr J. E. Coelho Pereira, learned Senior Advocate who appears along with Mr S. Karpe, Mr B. Fernandes, Mr A. Sawant, and Mr A. Shirodkar, learned counsel for the Appellants and Mr S. D. Lotlikar, learned Senior Advocate with Ms S. Kenny, Mr T. Sequeira and Mr S. Sawant, learned counsel for the Respondents.

(2.) The Appellants are the original defendants No. 1 and 2 or their legal representatives, and the Respondents are the legal representatives of the original Plaintiffs in Regular Civil Suit No.144/1992/B instituted in the Court of the Civil Judge Junior Division, Ponda. Defendant No.3 in the said suit, Smt Laxmbai Balkrishna Prabhu Gaonkar was served in the suit but chose to remain ex-parte. By the time, Regular Civil Appeal No.158/2004 was instituted, it appears that Laxmbai had expired and therefore, her legal representative Vilas B. Prabhu Gaonkar was impleaded. However, by order dtd. 18/6/2005, he was deleted. Accordingly, the parties in this Second Appeal will be referred to by their description before the trial Court i.e. the plaintiffs and defendants respectively.

(3.) Regular Civil Suit No.144/1992/B was instituted by the plaintiffs seeking a declaration that half of the suit property belongs to the plaintiffs and the remaining half to the original defendant No.3. The plaintiffs also sought for a declaration that defendant nos. 1 and 2 have no right to the suit property and therefore the said defendants be permanently restrained from interfering with the suit property.