ZAHEDA BEGAM Vs. LAL AHMED KHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PLAINTIFFS in O. S. No. 13 of 2000 on the file of the VII Additional District Judge (Fast track Court), Visakhapatnam, are the appellants. They filed the suit for partition against the respondents, in respect of the schedule property, which is a house at visakhapatnam.

(2.) ONE Mr. Ghouse Khan had three brothers i. e. respondent Nos. 1 to 3 and two sisters, the first appellant and late Malika begum, the mother of the second appellant. Ghouse Khan did not marry and remained as a bachelor. He purchased the suit schedule property through a registered sale deed dated 29-07-1981. After the death of ghouse Khan, the appellants and the respondents effected a family settlement, through document dated 07-02-1992. According to this, the second appellant was to be given western half of the suit schedule house and the first appellant and respondent nos. 1 to 3 were to be allotted th share each, in the rest of the property.

(3.) THE appellants pleaded that in spite of repeated demands, the respondents did not agree for partition of the property in accordance with the settlement. Respondent nos. 1 and 3 remained ex parte in the trial court and the second respondent alone contested the suit. He pleaded that an open site was purchased by late Ghouse Khan in the year 1981 and thereafter a house was constructed. He is said to have assisted his brother in construction of the building. It was pleaded that the first respondent is settled at Chennai, the third respondent at jamshedpur and the first appellant is settled with her family at Visakhapatnam, after retirement of her husband. It is stated that the mother of the second appellant died in the year 1964 and she was brought up by the first appellant. It was further pleaded that Ghouse Khan executed a will dated 25-02-1985 bequeathing the entire suit schedule property upon him and that ever since the death of Ghouse Khan, he is residing in the house, as owner. It was urged that he permitted the appellants to reside in a portion of the house, when they came to a hospital at Vishakhapatnam, for treatment.