The main legal point established in the judgment is that the Civil Court has jurisdiction to decide a suit for partition even in respect of a land for which occupancy rights were granted by the Land Tribunal.

1. This Appeal under Section 100 of CPC is filed by defendants 2 to 7 in O.S. No. 260/2002 on the file of III Additional Civil Judge (Junior Division), Dharwad, as the first Additional Civil Judge, Senior Division, Dharwad, by his judgment and decree dated 29.8.2008 dismissed their Appeal RA No.108/2006.

2. Referring to the parties with respect to the position of each of them in the trial Court, the pleadings in a nutshell are as follows:

Yallappa, Basappa and Mushappa were the three sons of Hanumanthappa Yellappa Bidaragaddi. Plaintiff No. 1 is the son and plaintiff No. 2 is the wife of Mushappa. Defendant No.1 is the wife and defendants 2 to 7 are the children of Basappa. Defendant No. 8 is the son and defendant No. 9 is the wife of Yallappa. The first son of the propositus Hanumanthappa Birdaragaddi, namely Yallappa died on 10.3.1952. The whereabouts of the second son Basappa is not known since the year 1984, and he is presumed to be dead. The last son, Mushappa, died on 15.5.1951. According to the plaintiffs, agricultural land to an extent of 1 acre 4 guntas in Block No. 227, 12 acres 2 guntas in Block No. 429 (old Sy. No. 8) and 3 acres 17 guntas in Block No. 374/4 of Narendra Village, Dhawad Taluk, are the joint family properties (hereinafter referred to as ‘the suit properties’). In respect of the first item of the suit property, the revenue records stood in the names of Basappa, Mushappa and defendants 2 and 8. After death of Mushappa, the plaintiffs did not get their names entered because of some technical reasons. In respect of the second item of the suit property, i.e., 12 acres 2 guntas in Block No. 429, the plaintiffs have stated that the propositus Hanumanthappa was the original tenant under the landlord. After his death, the name of his first son Yallappa was shown as tenant since he was the Manager of the family. After the death of Yallappa, the name of Basappa came to be entered. Though this land stood in the name of Basappa, it was under the joint cultivation of the plaintiffs and the defendants. The plaintiffs came to know that in the year 1998, the defendants 3 to 6 got their names entered in the place of their father Basappa by giving a false report (vardhi). After coming into force of the amendment brought to Karnataka Land Reforms Act by inserting Section 77A, the plaintiff No.1 and defendant No. 8 filed an application seeking grant of occupancy rights claiming that they were the tenants and the plaintiffs stated that the application had not been finalized.

3. In respect of the third item of the suit property, i.e., land in Block No. 374, the plaintiffs stated that earlier it belonged to Desai family of Mummigatti Village. The ancestors of the plaintiffs and the defendants were serving in the Desagat office of Mummigatti Desai family. Later on, this land vested with the Government. However, the Bidaragaddi family, i.e., the family of the plaintiffs and the defendants continued the cultivation of the said land with some other families. All those who were cultivating the lands applied to the Government seeking grant of that land in their favour. On behalf of their joint family, Basappa made the application. The Tahsildar, Dharwad, granted 3 acres 17 guntas in the name of Basappa. Giving these details, the plaintiffs claimed that all the suit properties belonged to the joint family. They have one-third share in the suit properties. Their request for partition was turned down and, therefore, they brought a suit seeking partition and separate possession of their one-third share.

4. The fifth defendant filed the written statement admitting the relationship but denied that the second and third items of the suit property were a part of the joint family. He pleaded that only the first item of the suit property, i.e., land in Block No. 227 was the joint family property and during the lifetime of Yallappa, Basappa and Mushappa, there had taken place a partition of this property. Since then, the families of al