IN THE HIGH COURT OF MARAS
Devadoss
G.A. Subramanian
Versus
A. Ramachandra Rao
Decided On : 6 August, 1924
Maintainability - Suit for Partial Partition - Suit should embrace all properties belonging to the plaintiff and defendants - Opportunity to amend plaint granted
Fact of the Case:
The plaintiff filed a suit for partial partition, but it did not include all the properties belonging to the plaintiff and defendants.
Finding of the Court:
The District Munsiff held the suit to be maintainable, while the Subordinate Judge dismissed the appeal of the defendants on the same ground. The Court allowed the appeal of the defendants but granted the plaintiff an opportunity to amend the plaint within two months.
Issues: The main issue was the maintainability of the suit for partial partition due to its failure to include all the properties belonging to the plaintiff and defendants.
Ratio Decidendi: The Court emphasized that there was no difficulty in including all the properties in the suit and cited precedents to support the principle that a suit for partial partition may be allowed only in certain circumstances.
Final Decision: The appeal of the defendants was allowed, but the plaintiff was granted an opportunity to amend the plaint within two months. The plaintiff was also directed to pay the costs of the defendants throughout.
Devadoss, J.
1. The only point argued in this second appeal is that the suit is not maintainable as it does not embrace all the properties belonging to the plaintiff and defendants Nos. 1 and 2.
2. The plaintiff admits in his evidence that there are several lands belonging to him and the defendants which are in the possession of tenants, that he himself had leased the lands before the date of suit and that the income from the lands was payable to himself as well as to defendants Nos. 1 and 2.
3. The District Munsiff held that the suit was maintainable and the Subordinate Judge dismissed the appeal of the defenants on the ground that the suit was maintainable. We are dearly of opinion that this is not a cage in which there was any inconvenience or difficulty in the way of including the other lands belonging to the plaintiff and the defendants among the properties to be divided in the suit. If some property belonging to the plaintiff and the defendants was in the hands of a third party claiming adversely to them, or if dome property was alienated by one of the co-sharers and if there was some difficulty in including such alienee in the suit, then it may be that the Court would not be inclined to hold that such properties should be brought into the suit. But in this case no such difficulty is alleged to exist. On the other hand, the only allegation is that the other properties are in the possession of the tenants of the plaintiff. It wag held in Rajendra Kumar v. Brojeadra Kumar A.I.R. 1923 Cal. 501, that a suit for partial partition would not ordinarily lie. In Pakkiri Kanni v. Manjoor Saheb A.I.R. 1924 Mad. 124, a Bench of this Court held that in certain cases partial partition may be allowed but there must be circumstances which militate against the division of all the family properties and which would be a sufficient reason for the Court to hold that the suit for partial partition should be allowed. But in this case no such circumstances have been brought to our notice. There is no reason why the plaintiff should not have included all the proparties belonging to himself and the defendants in his prayer for partition.
4. In the circumstances we allow the appeal of the defendants; but at the same time we do not think that the suit of the plaintiff should be dismissed on this technical ground. We allow him an opportunity to amend his plaint within two months from to-day. He will pay the casts of the defendants throughout; and the District Munsiff will allow the amendment, only after ha pays the amount of costs to defendants 1 and
2. If he does not amend the plaint the suit will stand dismissed with costs throughout.
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