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1934 Supreme(Mad) 286

IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADRAS
Venkateswara Pattar insane and Ors.
Versus
K. Mankayammal and Ors.
Decided On : 31.08.1934

Headnote:

Partition - Property Disposition - Ex. I, Ex. II, Ex. VI - The court discussed the validity and effect of the documents Exs. I, II, and VI, which were executed by Krishna Josier to effect a partition and make testamentary dispositions of his properties. The court held that Ex. I brought about a severance of status between the first plaintiff and his father, entitling the plaintiffs to a division of the properties into two equal shares.

Fact of the Case:

The plaintiffs sued for the recovery of certain properties or for partition. The first plaintiff was a lunatic, and the second plaintiff was his son. The dispute revolved around the validity and effect of the documents Exs. I, II, and VI, executed by Krishna Josier to effect a partition and make testamentary dispositions of his properties.

Finding of the Court:

The court found that Ex. I brought about a severance of status between the first plaintiff and his father, entitling the plaintiffs to a division of the properties into two equal shares.

Issues: The principal issues revolved around the validity and effect of the documents Exs. I, II, and VI, and whether they brought about a partition or a severance of status between the first plaintiff and his father.

Ratio Decidendi: The court held that Ex. I brought about a severance of status between the first plaintiff and his father, entitling the plaintiffs to a division of the properties into two equal shares.

Final Decision: The court held that the first plaintiff and his father became divided in status as from the date of Ex. I, entitling the plaintiffs to a division of the properties into two equal shares. The court also directed the parties to consider the necessity of a division by a Commissioner and added a direction for payment of mesne profits for the said period out of the assets of Krishna Josier.

JUDGMENT

Varadachariar, J.

1. This is an appeal by the plaintiffs, who sued in the lower Court for the recovery of certain properties or in the alternative, for partition. The first plaintiff has admittedly been a lunatic since 1920. The second plaintiff is his son, born in March, 1924. The third plaintiff is another son, born pending the suit. The first plaintiffs father (Krishna Josier) died on the 26th of September, 1923, leaving him surviving (besides the first plaintiff) two daughters who are defendants 1 and 2 in the case. The third and fourth defendants respectively are their husbands.

2. In view of first plaintiffs unfortunate condition, Krishna Josier, who was possessed of a decent extent of property, was naturally anxious to make some satisfactory arrangement for the management of his property after his death. His first attempt in this direction was Ex. A a will dated 6th of July, 1920. The first plaintiff had then an infant son about a year old, and the scheme of Ex. A is based on that circumstance. That child died sometime later, and to add to the misfortune of the parties, relations between Krishna Josier and first plaintiffs father-in-law became strained, so much so that, early in 1922, Krishna Josier left his old house and thereafter lived in a new house of his own. The result of this step was that Krishna Josiers daughters were more with him than before, while the first plaintiffs wife and her father stayed in the old house. The wife had not even attained majority by that time, and as the first plaintiff required care and attention, he would appear to have been living generally with his father and sisters. These circumstances necessitated a change of the scheme of the original will (Ex. A) and Krishna Josier accordingly executed a new will, Ex. B on 31st December, 1922. The relations between Krishna Josier and the first plaintiffs father-in-law grew worse day by day, and at the time of the registration of Ex. B there seem to have been very unpleasant manifestations of protest on the part of the first plaintiffs wife. It is also not unlikely that Krishna Josier was made to feel, in an increasing degree, the reasonableness of making some provision for his daughters, and for the performance of his obsequies and shraddhas. There was also the continuing problem of making provision for the lunatic son and his wife, and also for the contingency of their having sons and daughters. The old man took legal advice and according to that advice, executed two documents Exs. I and II on the 9th of January, 1923, the first purporting to be a deed of partition, and the second a testamentary disposition of most of the properties which under Ex. I Krishna Josier reserved for his shares. The validity and effect of these documents is the principal question for determination in the appeal. On the same day Krishna Josier also executed Ex. VI, a deed of trust setting apart certain properties, out of his share, for certain charities. The validity of this document is also in question.

3. The second plaintiff, was born in March, 1924, and was thus in the mothers womb at the date of Krishna Josiers death (September, 1923). This makes it possible for the second plaintiff to contend that if there had been no valid partition under Ex. I he would be a co-parcener, and that the will Ex. II would be invalid as also the trust deed. This suit was therefore instituted on his behalf, within a few months of his birth, to have it declared that Ex. I could not and did not effect a partition between Krishna Josier and the first plaintiff, that the second plaintiff is accordingly a co-parcener, and is as such entitled to all the properties of Krishna Josier. It suited his case to say, that the first plaintiff, by reason of his insanity, had ceased to be a co-parcener at least from 1920, and to rely on the fact that Krishna Josier himself distinctly asserted in Ex. I that the first plaintiff was not entitled to any share. The plaint also made a point of the f



















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