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1976 Supreme(Cal) 11

High Court Of Calcutta
R. BHATTACHARYYA
MOHIDDIN MOLLA - Appellant
Versus
JITENDRANATH KARMAKAR - Respondent
CR 2756  Of  1974
Decided On : 01/14/1976

Advocates Appeared:
A.K.MOTILAL, BARUN KUMAR CHAUDHARY

A single co-sharer having any subsisting interest in a dwelling house belonging to an undivided family has the right to claim under Section 4 of the Partition Act to purchase the share of a transferee who is not a member of the family.

Headnote:

PARTITION ACT - SECTION 4 - DWELLING HOUSE - INTERPRETATION - APPLICATION FOR PURCHASE OF SHARE - MAINTAINABILITY - RES JUDICATA - ORDER 9, RULE 9 (1), C. P. CODE - APPLICABILITY - SINGLE CO-SHARER - RIGHT TO CLAIM UNDER SECTION 4 - HELD, THE APPLICATION UNDER SECTION 4 OF THE PARTITION ACT IS MAINTAINABLE EVEN IF THERE IS ONLY ONE CO-SHARER HAVING ANY SUBSISTING INTEREST IN THE SUIT PROPERTY.

Fact of the Case:

The defendant filed an application under Section 4 of the Partition Act, claiming the right to purchase the share of the transferee in a dwelling house belonging to an undivided family. The trial court rejected the application on the grounds that the entire suit property was not the dwelling house of the defendant's family and that a previous application under Section 4 had been rejected. The defendant challenged the order of the trial court in a revisional application.

Finding of the Court:

The High Court held that the trial court erred in rejecting the defendant's application. The court found that the suit property was the dwelling house of the defendant's family and that the previous application under Section 4 had been rejected only for default of the defendant. The court also held that the defendant had the right to claim under Section 4 even though he was the only co-sharer having any subsisting interest in the suit property.

Issues: 1. Whether the suit property was the dwelling house of the defendant's family? 2. Whether the defendant's application under Section 4 of the Partition Act was maintainable? 3. Whether the defendant had the right to claim under Section 4 even though he was the only co-sharer having any subsisting interest in the suit property?

Ratio Decidendi: 1. The court held that the suit property was the dwelling house of the defendant's family based on the allegations made in the plaint and the fact that the defendant's brother was living in the suit property. 2. The court held that the defendant's application under Section 4 of the Partition Act was maintainable as there was no decision on merit in the previous application and the principles of res judicata did not apply. 3. The court held that the defendant had the right to claim under Section 4 even though he was the only co-sharer having any subsisting interest in the suit property, relying on a Division Bench decision of the same court.

Final Decision: The High Court allowed the revisional application and set aside the order of the trial court. The court directed the trial court to allow the defendant's application under Section 4 of the Partition Act and proceed according to law.

R. BHATTACHARYA, J.

( 1 ) THIS revisional application has been filed by the defendant of the original suit against an order passed by the learned Munsif on 25-3-1974 rejecting the petitioner's application under Section 4 of the Partition Act. The opposite party is opposing the application.

( 2 ) THE opposite party Jitendra Nath Karamkar filed a suit for partition against the petitioner Mohiuddin Molla and others. There has been a preliminary decree for partition. Thereafter when poceedings were going on for final decree, the petitioner Mohiuddin filed a petition under Section 4 of the Partition Act. The plaintiff opposed and the learned Munsif found that the entire suit property was not the dwelling house of the defendant's family. It has also been held by the learned Munsif that as previously a petition was filed on similar ground and since it was rejected, the subsequent application under Section 4 of the Partition Act was not maintainable. On these grounds the defendant's petition was rejected. Against that order the petitioner has come up before this Court challenging the propriety and validity of the said order.

( 3 ) I have heard Mr. Roy Chowdhury appearing on behalf of the petitioner and Mr. Motilal for the Plaintiff-opposite party.

( 4 ) MR. Roy Chowdhury's contention is that the learned Munsif acted beyond jurisdiction and also with material irregularity for not considering the relevant materials essential for the determination of the application and in doing injustice to the party. It has also been contended that the learned Munsif also acted illegally and with material irregularity in holding that the subsequent application under Section 4 of the Partition Act filed by the petitioner was not maintainable.

( 5 ) ON the question as to whether the suit property was not the dwelling house of the defendant's family, I find that the learned Munsif did not at all pay his attention to the respective cases of the parties. From the allegations made in paragraphs 1 and 8 of the plaint and also with reference to the other allegations made in the body of the plaint, it is quite clear and there is no ambiguity, that the suit property was the dwelling house of the predecessor-in-interest of the petitioner, the defendant No. 1 and the other defendants except the defendants Nos. 4 and 5. There is no doubt also that the defendant No. 3, the brother of the petitioner, was living in the suit property. In this case the parties did not adduce separate evidence regarding the character of the suit property. From the plaintiff's own admission it is quite clear that the learned Munsif did not look to the case of the plaintiff himself and that he wrongly construed the plaintiff's case.

( 6 ) IN this connection Mr. Motilal has made an attempt to argue that when there is a shop room in the suit premises, the suit property cannot be held as the dwelling house. On this question there can be no doubt that only a minor part of the dwelling house is a shop room. The meaning of the dwelling house in Section 4 of the Partition Act is relevant. The relevant portion of Section 4 of the Partition Act runs as follows:--"where a share of a dwelling house belonging to an undivided family has been transferred to a person who is not a member of such family, and such transferee sues for partition, the Court shall, if any member of the family being a shareholder shall undertake to buy the share of such transferee, make a valuation of such share in such manner as it thinks fit, and direct the sale of such share to such shareholder and may give all necessary and proper directions in that behalf. "in this connection we should consider the decision of a Division Bench of this Court in the case of Dulal Chandra Chatterjee v. Gostha Behari Mitra. There we find the following:"but assuming that the house concerned must be a residential house of the members of the family owning it. I am altogether unable to agree that any suspension of occupation or, for the matter







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