CHANDRESHWAR SINGH Vs. RAMCHANDRA SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal by defendants 1 to 3 and their descendants has been preferred against the judgment and the decree passed in Title suit No. 29 of 1957, which was instituted by the plaintiff-respondents 1 to 3 on the 21st November, 1957, claiming partition of their one-fourth share in the joint family landed properties mentioned in Schedule A of the plaint and moveable properties, including cash, mentioned in Schedules B, C, D and E thereof. The relationship between the parties will appear from the following genealogical table:-- <FRM>JUDGEMENT_215_AIR(PAT)_1973Html1.htm</FRM> It may be noticed that in the genealogical table which the plaintiffs gave in their plaint, Jago Kumri widow of Sribaran Singh was not shown.

(2.) The plaintiffs' case in brief was that Ganauri Singh was the common ancestor of the parties noted in the above genealogical table. He had four sons, namely, Dilbharam Singh, Hibharan Singh, Shibaran Singh and Jhari Singh who were all dead before the institution of the suit. The plaintiffs and defendants 4, 5, 16, 17 and 18 represent the branch of Dilbharan Singh whereas defendant No. 6 (Baso Kumri) is the Widow of Karu Singh, the son of Shibaran Singh who also died before the institution of the suit. Defendants 1 to 3, the appellants to this court and defendants 7 to 15 are the descendants of Jhari Singh while the branch of Hibharan Singh was extinct after his death. According to the plaintiffs, the parties to the suit still constituted a joint Hindu family governed by the Mitakshara School of Hindu Law of which defendant No. 1 was the karta. Since Hibharan Singh and Karu Singh died about 20 years and 25 years ago respectively, the plaintiffs share in the joint family properties was four annas while the share of defendants 4 and 5 was also four annas and the share of defendants 1 to 3 was eight annas. The plaintiffs alleged in the plaint that the Karta of the family, namely, defendant No. 1 was misappropriating the joint family properties and, therefore, they asked the defendants to partition the joint family properties amicably,

(3.) As many as four written statements were filed in the suit. Out of them one was filed by defendants 1 to 3 on 19th August, 1958. Defendants 1 to 3 further filed additional written statements on 7th February, 1959, 30th June, 1960, 28th July, 1960 and 25th January, 1961. The other written statement was filed by defendant 4 and 5 on 5th January, 1962. Initially, the plaintiffs had not impleaded Baso Kumri as a party to the suit. On her application however, she was impleaded as defendant No. 6 She filed her written statement on 15th April, 1959. The fourth written statement was filed on behalf of minor defendants on 11th November, 1959, through the guardian-ad-litem.