RAIBARI DEI Vs. LALITA DEI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) TWO sisters are the contesting parties in this appeal. The suit was filed by the elder sister praying for a decree preliminarily defining her half share in the suit land detailed in Schedule (A) to the plaint, making allotment of her half share out of the suit land by deputation of a Civil Court Amin Commissioner, passing a final decree according to the report of the Civil Court Amin Commissioner, and putting the Plaintiff in separate possession over her share to be determined, declaring the deed of gift executed and registered on 23.10.1973 by the deceased father of Plaintiff and Defendant to be invalid, inoperative and not binding, for costs of the suit and other reliefs as available to her.

(2.) THE factual position is almost accepted by the parties. The Plaintiff -Respondent and the Defendant -Appellant are the daughters of one Dwari Sahu, who died in the year 1974, Subsequently his widow Chakiri Bewa also died in or about the year 1975. The parties had a brother namely, Brunda Sahu. Brunda died issueless. His wife had died earlier. The death of Brunda was prior to the death of his parents. The Plaintiff and the Defendant belonged to a Hindu Mitakshara Joint Family and by operation of the provisions of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (in short 'the Act') became entitled to the properties left by their father. The properties described in Schedule (A) were the ancestral 'joint family properties. A deed of gift was executed by the father of the parties on 23.10. 1973, in favour of Defendant -Appellant who was then a minor in respect of 1.48 acres of land. The Defendant -Appellant is physically handicapped.

(3.) THE stand of the Defendant -Appellant was that the deed of gift was actuated on account of love and affection of a father for a handicapped girl, and the motivation was justifiable and the gift was reasonable. The gift had been acted upon with the consent of the mother, and there was no illegality attached thereto.