Clear and specific pleadings are essential, and vague pleadings without material particulars do not warrant any issue to be settled between the parties.

Pradeep Nandrajog, J. (Oral)

1. Having heard learned counsel for the appellants we find no case made out to even issue a notice in the appeal which lays a challenge to an order dated February 19, 2014 passed by a learned Single Judge of this Court in CS (OS) No.1525/2012 passing a preliminary decree declaring the respondents and appellant No.1 to be having 1/3rd share each in property No.D-690, Chitranjan Park, New Delhi.

2. Late Sh.Prosun Kanti Bhadra was the owner of property No.D-690, Chitranjan Park, New Delhi. He died intestate on June 21, 2003. He was survived by his wife Ms.Gouri Bhadra, daughter Ms.Swapna and son Sh.Goutam Bhadra.

3. The mother and the daughter sued for partition claiming to be Class I heir of the deceased and needless to state pleaded that the mother and the daughter had 1/3rd share each in the estate of the deceased and the remaining 1/3rd was that of the appellant No.1, who was impleaded as defendant No.1 in the suit and his wife the second appellant was impleaded as defendant No.2.

4. The appellants filed a written statement admitting that the suit property was the self acquired property of the deceased who died intestate on June 21, 2003. Admitting the relationship of the parties as pleaded in the plaint the right of the respondents was refuted by pleading a defence under Section 23 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 and secondly on the plea that ‘a consensus family settlement had taken place in the year 1992 during the life time and under the guidance of the deceased’. It was pleaded that as per the settlement the property in question was agreed to be belonging to the first appellant. It was further pleaded that as per the consensus family settlement the respondent No.2 i.e. the daughter of the deceased was given financial help to purchase a flat at Noida. Thirdly on the plea that during his life time the deceased had made a declaration that the property shall devolve on appellant No.1.

5. The view taken by the learned Single Judge is that on account of amendment to the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 with effect from September 09, 2005, Section 23 being deleted from the statute book, the first defence could not be urged and thus no issue was required to be settled on said plea.

6. The second plea pertaining to a family settlement has been held to be no plea in the eyes of law because the pleading is vague.

7. The third defence pertaining to an oral declaration made by the deceased during his life time has not been noted by the learned Single Judge probably for the reason his attention was not drawn thereto; as recorded in the order the counsel for the appellants just kept on praying for the matter to be adjourned.

8. Learned counsel for the appellant concedes that the defence under Section 23 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 is not available because the said Section has been deleted from the statute book with effect from September 09, 2005 and it is irrelevant that the deceased had died prior to the amendment. The reason being that Section 23 was an embargo on the rights of females to seek partition of a dwelling house in which they had inherited a share till the male members chose to effect partition. With the deletion of the Section, the embargo has been lifted.

9. With respect to the two pleas of a family settlement and an oral declaration statedly made by the deceased, pertaining to the oral declaration suffice it to state that it is not the case of the appellants that the deceased had made an oral Will or there was an oral gift. If the appellants intended to plead that the deceased had made either an oral Will or had made an oral gift, they had to plead so. Needless to state if the plea was of an oral Will, the same would have been a privileged Will as contemplated by Section 65 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 and it could be made and proved as per Section 66 thereof. It is not the case of the appellants that the deceased was a soldier and was employed in an expedition or engaged in