GORAKA ANJANEYULU Vs. GUNTI TATAYYA NAIDU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS Second Appeal is filed against judgment and decree dated 25.03.2003 in O.S.No.36 of 1997 on the file of the learned Junior Civil Judge, Palasa (for short, "the trial Court") as confirmed in judgment dated 17.03.2010 in A.S.No.33 of 2003 on the file of the Senior Civil Judge, Sompeta (for short, "the lower appellate Court").

(2.) DEFENDANT No.1 is the appellant. Respondent No.1 filed O.S.No.36 of 1997 in the trial Court for partition of the suit schedule properties. The properties admittedly belong to the wife of respondent No.1 - plaintiff. She died intestate. The appellant is the grandson of the father-in- law of respondent No.1. The appellant has pleaded that as the original owner i.e., the wife of the plaintiff has inherited the property from her father, Section 15(2) of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (for short, "the Act") gets attracted and therefore the plaintiff cannot claim the entire property.

(3.) AT the hearing, Sri V. Raghu, learned counsel for the appellant, strenuously contended that by virtue of Section 15(2) of the Act, the appellant, being the legal heir of the plaintiff's wife through her father, is entitled to a share. It is therefore necessary to consider Section 15, which reads as under: "15. General rules of succession in the case of female Hindus-(1) The property of a female Hindu dying intestate shall devolve according to the rules set out in Section 16,-