JUDGMENT

Gaurang Kanth, J.

1. The case at hand is a first appeal which has been filed under Section 96 and Order XLI Rule 1 of The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 against the Judgment and preliminary decree dated 11.12.2014, passed by the learned Additional District Judge-06, Central Delhi, wherein the learned Additional District Judge decided the Civil Suit No. 46/11/08 titled as Raj Kumari Batra vs. Om Prakash Popli & Ors. which was a suit for partition and permanent injunction (hereinafter referred to as the "impugned judgment").

2. The appeal arises from a suit brought by Respondent No. 1/Smt. Raj Kumari Batra in the Court of the learned Additional District Judge, Central Delhi, for partition and permanent injunction with respect to the property bearing No. C-II/ 55-56 situated at Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi (hereinafter, referred to as "suit property") upon the death of the mother of the parties Smt. Laxmi Devi (hereinafter referred to as "the deceased testatrix"). Vide the impugned judgment, the learned Trial Court passed a Preliminary Decree of partition by metes and bounds in favour of Respondent No. 1 in respect of the suit property consisting of ground floor, first floor and second floor, except the basement floor to the effect that the parties were entitled to 1/5th share each in the suit property.

FACTS GERMANE FOR THE ADJUDICATION OF THE PRESENT APPEAL ARE AS FOLLOWS:

3. The factual matrix which emerges out of a perusal of the records is that Shri Om Prakash Popli, Shri Rajender Popli and Shri Subhash Chand Popli (hereinafter referred to as "Appellant No. 1, Appellant No. 2 and Appellant No. 3", respectively) and Smt. Raj Kumari Batra and Shri Prem Nath Popli (hereinafter referred to as "Respondent No. 1" and "Respondent No. 2", respectively) were all real siblings born to Late Shri Dayal Chand Ulfat and Late Smt. Laxmi Devi. As per the pleadings of the parties, Appellant Nos. 1, 2 and 3 had been residing in the suit property, whereas Respondent No. 1 was married and residing with her husband in Agra and Respondent No. 2 was a resident of Canada.

4. Late Smt. Laxmi Devi, the mother of the parties, was the owner of the suit property. A perpetual lease deed dated 12.09.1968 had been executed in favour of Smt. Laxmi Devi which was registered with the office of Sub-Registrar, Delhi on 08.01.1969. A Conveyance Deed dated 28.06.2004 was executed in favour of Smt. Laxmi Devi making her the owner of the suit property and this was registered with the concerned sub-Registrar on 01.07.2004.

5. As per Respondent No. 1, her mother had sold the basement floor during her lifetime in pursuance of a Builder Collaboration Agreement and thereafter the entire property was constructed. Upon the death of her mother, Respondent No. 1 had initially filed a suit for partition and Permanent Injunction before the learned Trial Court submitting that Smt. Laxmi Devi had died intestate on 22.04.2008. Respondent No.1 claimed that upon the death of her mother, the suit property devolved upon the parties in equal share, i.e. 1/5th of the suit property apart from the basement floor which had already been sold.

6. The claims of Respondent No. 1 were refuted by the Appellants in their joint Written Statement where they claimed that the deceased Smt. Laxmi Devi had executed a duly registered Will dated 24.02.2005 during her lifetime whereby she had bequeathed the entire first floor portion of the suit property to Appellant No. 3 and the second floor of the suit property was bequeathed in favour of Appellant Nos. 1 and 2 to the extent of the portions occupied by them.

7. It was the case of