MAHENDRA MAHANTA Vs. TARINI DEI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Defendant Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 5 in the Court of the Subordinate Judge, Baripada in Title Suit No. 3 of 1978-I against the judgment and decree passed in a suit for partition have filed this appeal.

(2.) Essential factual matrix leading to this appeal is as follows :

(3.) Late Birbal Mohanta had three sons, namely, Rabi, Laxmiram and Lokanath. There was a partition among the sons of Birbal in which Lokanath got certain landed properties. He acquired further properties during his lifetime. At the time of his death in 1962 Lokanath left behind 'B' Schedule properties. His son Jayakrushna, the father of the plaintiffs had pre-deceased him in the year 1960. Even during the lifetime of Lokanath, the defendant No. 1 Mahendra became the Karta of the joint family consisting of Jashoda, widow of Lokanath and Sabitri, defendant No. 2 (mother of the plaintiffs) and himself. The appellant No. 1 purchased some landed properties out of the surplus income of the joint family properties. The lands described in Schedules C-1 to C-8 belonged to Lokanath, father of Mahendra and Jayakrishna and out of the income from the aforesaid land, the appellant No. 1 Mahendra acquired Schedules C-9 to C-14 properties. The defendant No. 1 and the plaintiffs jointly purchased the Schedule C-15 land from Balaram Mohanta and sold Schedule C-18 land to the said Balaram on the same day. The defendant No. 1 sold Schedule C-8(a) properties to one Sunaram Majhi and purchased Schedules C-16 and C-17 properties in the name of his daughters Jagri (defendant No. 3) and Gopali Dei (defendant No. 4). Schedules E-1 and E-2 lands are portions of the properties of Schedule 'C' purchased in the names of defendants 3 and 5, the children of defendant No. 1 from Jasoda widow of late Lokanath out of the joint family funds by defendant No. 1. The plaintiffs have not laid their claims for partition of C-18 Schedule properties, but they have claimed shares in Schedules C-1 to C-17 properties.