"A Quarter Of A Century Has Passed": Supreme Court Directs Expeditious Trial Of A Partition Suit Pending For 26 Years
"A quarter of a century has passed in determining whether the licenser is entitled to seek occupation of the portion occupied by her son!", the Supreme Court observed while directing a Court in Pune to expedite the trial of a partition suit which is pending for 26 years.A suit was filed before the Small Causes Court, Pune in the year 1995 by a mother against her son seeking a decree...
"A quarter of a century has passed in determining whether the licenser is entitled to seek occupation of the portion occupied by her son!", the Supreme Court observed while directing a Court in Pune to expedite the trial of a partition suit which is pending for 26 years.
A suit was filed before the Small Causes Court, Pune in the year 1995 by a mother against her son seeking a decree of possession. The same year, the son also filed a suit for partition of properties. After the death of the mother, her son in law claimed that she had executed an unregistered Will and that he is the legatee. Later, he was substituted as the plaintiff in 2007 in the suit before the Small Causes Court. It is this dispute surrounding the will that has reached the Supreme Court in the year 2014.
"We can hardly envisage a situation where for 26 years, a suit is pending at the first stage, and we have to decide the appeal and the second appeals which would arise thereafter.", the bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hemant Gupta observed.
While dismissing the appeal, the Court clarified that impugned orders are not determinative of the findings qua the succession to the suit property. The title would be decided in suit for partition filed in 1995, the bench noted.
"We also consider it appropriate to direct the Civil Judge, Senior Division, Pune to expedite the trial of suit No.450 of 1995. We can hardly envisage a situation where for 26 years, a suit is pending at the first stage, and we have to decide the appeal and the second appeals which would arise thereafter. The Wills are stated to have been filed in those proceedings and thus the final determination of the validity of the Wills would be in those proceedings. Needless to say that the parties will cooperate for an early trial to the suit and the trial court will endeavor to give a quietus to the issues before it preferably in a period of one year from date of communication of this order.", the Court observed in the order.
Case: Jimmy Dora Sukhia vs. Roshani Farukh Chinoy ; CA 2852/2021Coram: Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hemant GuptaCitation: LL 2021 SC 353
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