LOURDES GREGORIO GOMINDES Vs. MILAGRES SANTANA GOMINDES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. Respondents waive service. Leave is granted to the petitioners to challenge all the three orders in one petition. By this petition, the petitioners challenge the orders passed by the District Judge, South Goa, Margao in Misc. Civil Application No. 122/2013 dated 28 September 2012, Misc. Civil Application No. 121/2013 dated 28 January 2013 and Misc. Civil Application No. 120/2013 dated 12 April 2013. By the impugned orders, the learned District Judge essentially has dismissed the appeal filed by the petitioners as not maintainable.

(2.) The learned District Judge has relied upon Article 1414 and 1435 of the Portuguese Civil Code which is applicable in respect of inventory proceedings. The learned District Judge has come to the conclusion that the orders challenged in appeal are only directing how the partition should be effected and there is no final order in respect of the partition and, therefore, appeals are not maintainable.

(3.) The dispute between the parties is long pending and there have been various rounds of litigation. It is not necessary, for the purpose of this petition, to enumerate all those facts. The litigation is in respect of properties of late Maria Albertina Fernandes. It is the case of the respondents that certain properties which were earlier belonging to late Maria, which were gifted or sold by her, should be included for the consideration in the inventory proceedings. The respondents had filed two applications for the said inclusion but they were rejected and the only property that is now for consideration is plot No. C-1. By the order impugned in appeal, the learned Civil Judge took a view that, though the properties earlier disposed of by late Maria could not be brought into consideration in partition, the effect of the same can be considered for the purpose of determining the shares. The learned Civil Judge accordingly directed that final chart of partition should be drawn up by taking into consideration the effect of those transactions.