SupremeToday Landscape Ad
Back
Next
Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation
judgment-img

2009 Supreme(SC) 1148

B.S.CHAUHAN, MUKUNDAKAM SHARMA
Ramdas – Appellant
Versus
Sitabai – Respondent


Advocates appeared:
For the Appellant :Ashok Srivastava, Sr. Adv., Satyajeet A. Desai, Alangha S. Desai, Venkateswara Rao, Anu Moli, Advocates.
For the Respondent:Subhash Paliwal, A.K. Sanghi, Advocates.

Judgement Key Points

Certainly. Here are the key points from the provided legal document:

  • Without a formal physical partition of an undivided landed property, a co-sharer cannot lawfully put a vendee into possession of the entire property, even if they have a right to transfer their undivided share (!) (!) .

  • A purchaser of an undivided interest from a co-sharer does not acquire title to a specific, defined share until a formal partition is effected either amicably or through court decree (!) (!) .

  • The legal position is that a sale of undivided share does not automatically confer possession of the entire property to the vendee; instead, the vendee's rights are limited to seeking partition and obtaining their specific share (!) (!) .

  • The sale of undivided interest by a co-sharer is valid, but possession cannot be handed over unless the property is partitioned by mutual agreement or court order (!) .

  • In this case, the court held that the entire property belonged to the deceased and was jointly owned by the heirs, with each holding an undivided half share in all the properties (!) (!) .

  • The co-sharers could not sell more than their respective shares, nor could they deliver possession of the entire property until it was partitioned (!) .

  • The sale deed executed by a co-sharer for the entire property was deemed null and void to the extent of the other co-sharer’s undivided share, as the property remained joint and unpartitioned (!) (!) .

  • The court emphasized that possession of an undivided share cannot be lawfully transferred or handed over until the property is partitioned, reinforcing that only rights to seek partition are conferred by such sales (!) (!) .

  • The court dismissed the appeal, affirming that the undivided nature of the property and the lack of formal partition prevented the vendee from claiming possession of the entire property, and that the legal ownership remained with the co-sharers until partition (!) .

  • The judgment included a direction for the defendant to hand over possession of their respective undivided share of the property to the plaintiff within three months, failing which the plaintiff could seek enforcement through appropriate proceedings (!) .

These points collectively stress that in property law, especially concerning co-ownership, physical partition or court-approved division is essential before a co-sharer can transfer or possess a specific, defined part of the property.


JUDGMENT

Dr. Mukundakam Sharma, J.—

1. This appeal arises out of a Judgment and Order passed by the High Court of Bombay, Nagpur Bench while disposing of a second appeal filed by the appellant herein (Mr. Ramdas) who has been arrayed as defendant No.3 in the original suit. The said suit was filed by the plaintiff -Sitabai (respondent No.1 herein) seeking for a decree of partition and for delivery of possession of her share in the suit property. It was alleged in the plaint that the deceased Sukha had a son, namely Sudam who was impleaded as defendant No.1 in the suit and a daughter (plaintiff-Sitabai). The plaintiff-Sitabai, therefore, is the sister of the defendant No.1-Sudam.

2. Sukha died on 07.12.1977 and at the time of his death he left behind him the following properties :

Village Survey No. Area = Acre (H.R)

Padoli 19 2.56 = = 6.40

Padoli 46 5.47 = = 13.50

Lakhampur 22 4.40 = = 11.00

Kosara 80 2.43 = = 6.08

Total 14.86 = = 37.15

The aforesaid properties which are four in number constitute the suit property.

3. In the said suit the plaintiff-Si























Click Here to Read the rest of this document
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
SupremeToday Portrait Ad
supreme today icon
logo-black

An indispensable Tool for Legal Professionals, Endorsed by Various High Court and Judicial Officers

Please visit our Training & Support
Center or Contact Us for assistance

qr

Scan Me!

India’s Legal research and Law Firm App, Download now!

For Daily Legal Updates, Join us on :

whatsapp-icon telegram-icon
whatsapp-icon Back to top