IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
Mr. Justice Mack and Mr. Justice Krishnaswami Nayudu.
Parsam Venkataramayya
Versus
Parsam Venkataramappa
Appeal No. 20 of 1949.
Decided On : 25 November 1952
The main question that arises for determination in this appeal is as to whether a certain interest which the plaintiff-appellant had in a business is joint family property or the separate property of the plaintiff. The plaintiff and the first defendant were brothers. Defendants 2 to 4 are the sons of the firrst defendant and defendants 5 to 7 are the sons of a pre-deceased son of first defendant by name Thimmiah. The suit is for partition of the joint family properties. The first defendant was the manager and the elder brother of the plaintiff. He died on 28th August, 1946, a day after the institution of the suit, the suit having been instituted on 27th August, 1946. The joint family was possessed of about 60 acres of lands and a house at Kothur village and some valuable moveables including gold and silver. The first defendant was also conducting a small retail shop at Kothur and doing money-lending business. There is no dispute that the plaintiff left his ancestral village of Kothur to Anantapur at which place he was married to the daughter of P.W.4, Rentala Bala Venkataswami. From 1933 onwards he continued to remain in his father-in-law’s place and never came back to Kothur excepting probably on certain occasions. The feelings between the members of the joint family and the plaintiff have always been cordial. In the written statement filed on behalf of defendants 3 and 4, while not disputing the plaintiff’s right to a partition of the joint family properties, it was alleged that the plaintiff was carrying on a mandy business on behalf of the family in partnership with the plaintiff’s brother-in-law, Rentala Venkatasubbayya (D.W.5), son of P.W.4, and that the plaintiff should be directed to bring the family’s interest in the said partnership into the hotchpot and the defendants given a share therein. The defendants also claimed a share in two houses at Anantapur, one acquired in the name of P.W.4 and the other in the joint names of the plaintiff’s wife and his brother-in-law D.W.5. The case of the defendants is that they were fraudulently obtained in their names, though really the properties belonged to the family, that they were benami transactions and that therefore, they must be declared to be the properties of the joint family. The learned District Judge held in favour of the defendants that the plaintiff’s share in the business at Anantapur was joint family business and that the defendants are entitled to an account of that business. As regards the houses, the learned Judge reserved it for decision in the final decree proceedings, directing the impleading of necessary parties to the transaction.
It is well established that there is no presumption that a business carried on by a member of a joint Hindu family is joint family business and it is for those who set it up to establish it that though the business was carried on by an individual member it was the business of the family.
The plaintiff’s case is that in 1932 or 1933 on account of some differences among the womenfolk and misunderstandings with the first defendant, he left for Anantapur borrowed a sum of Rs. 1,000 under Exhibit A-5 from P.W. 2 and out of the sum he contributed about Rs. 600 or Rs. 700 to the partnership business of himself and his father-in-law and that later he discharged that liability. He is supported by P.W. 2 who has also filed the promissory note Exhibit A-5. The learned District Judge declined to accept this evidence and it is unnecessary for us, in the view which we are taking of the other evidence in the case, to differ from the conclusion of the learned Judge as regards the truth of this portion of the plaintiff’s case as to his securing a sum of Rs. 1,000 from P.W.2 required for providing for the capital of the partnership business of himself and his father-in-law. On behalf of the the defendants, while it is conceded that the plaintiff left the village about 1932 or 1933, the capital required for the business was st
Login now and unlock free premium legal research
Login to SupremeToday AI and access free legal analysis, AI highlights, and smart tools.
Login
now!
India’s Legal research and Law Firm App, Download now!
Copyright © 2023 Vikas Info Solution Pvt Ltd. All Rights Reserved.