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2017 Supreme(Mad) 956

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
N.SATHISH KUMAR, J.
Abdul Kader Maricar – Appellant
Vs.
Saraummal and others – Respondents
Appeal Suit No.76 of 1999
Decided On : 05-05-2017

Advocates Appeared:
For the Appellant : Mr. T.R. Rajagopalan, Senior Counsel for M/s T.Susindran
For the Respondent: Mr. N.L. Rajah, Senior Counsel for M/s. B.Harikrishnan

Headnote:

Suit for partition - Sake of convenience - Adverse possession - Suit properties - Abdul had three wives and through his first wife he had three daughters and two sons and sons are the first and second plaintiffs and daughters are the defendants 5 and 6 - Plaintiffs 4 to 9 were born through the second wife viz., Ummasi ammal. He had a daughter, third plaintiff - Third wife is the first defendant and through her, he had four children viz., defendants 2, 3, 4 and 7 - All properties are properties - He died Under Muslim Law, widow viz., first defendant is entitled to 1/8 share and the remaining estate shall be taken by the residuary heirs namely sons and daughters in the ratio of 2:1. – Held, learned trial Court dismissing the suit is liable to be set aside - Points are answered accordingly - First plaintiff alone filed the appeal and the other plaintiffs have not preferred any appeal, this Court is of the view that the first plaintiff is entitled to 14 shares in the suit properties and accordingly preliminary decree is passed dividing the properties into 120 equal shares and allot 14 such shares to the first plaintiff alone. As the other plaintiffs have not preferred any appeal and not contested the suit the preliminary decree is restricted only in favour of appellant/first plaintiff - Appeal is allowed

Judgement Key Points

Certainly. Here are the key points derived from the provided legal document:

  • The suit was filed for partition of property, which was dismissed by the trial court based on the validity of a will and implied consent of the legal heirs (!) (!) .
  • The deceased, Abdul Razack Maricar, had multiple wives and children, with properties inherited under Muslim Law. The widow was entitled to a specific share, and the remaining estate was to be divided among the residuary heirs (!) (!) .
  • The defendant (first defendant) claimed that Abdul Razack Maricar executed a valid will bequeathing all properties to her, and that she has been in possession and enjoyment of these properties since his death (!) (!) .
  • The plaintiff challenged the validity of the will, asserting that under Muslim Law, a testator cannot bequeath more than one-third of his estate without the consent of all heirs, and that the will exceeded this limit. They also argued that the alleged consent of the heirs was not proved and that the will was executed without proper legal consent (!) (!) (!) .
  • The trial court found that the will was valid based on implied consent and the inaction of other heirs over a long period, dismissing the suit for partition (!) .
  • The appellate court reversed this decision, emphasizing that consent to a bequest, especially to an heir, must be clear and unequivocal, and that silence or inaction cannot be deemed as consent. It highlighted that proof of actual or implied consent is necessary, and such consent must be established through evidence (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) .
  • The court noted that the evidence did not substantiate that all legal heirs had given consent to the will, and that the delay in filing the suit did not imply consent. Therefore, the will's validity was questionable, and the suit for partition should be allowed (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) .
  • Ultimately, the appellate court held that the first plaintiff was entitled to a specific share in the property and passed a preliminary decree accordingly. Since only the first plaintiff appealed, the decree was limited to her (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) .

These points summarize the core legal findings and reasoning in the case, focusing on the importance of clear proof of consent for wills and the rights of heirs under Muslim Law.


JUDGMENT :

Aggrieved over the dismissal of the suit for partition, the first plaintiff has filed the present appeal. The parties are arrayed as per their own ranking before the trial Court for the sake of convenience.

2. The Brief facts of the plaintiffs' case is as follows:-

Abdul Razack Maricar had three wives and through his first wife he had three daughters and two sons and the sons are the first and second plaintiffs and the daughters are the defendants 5 and 6. The plaintiffs 4 to 9 were born through the second wife viz., Ummasi ammal. He had a daughter viz., Sabiya Ummal, the third plaintiff. The third wife is the first defendant and through her, he had four children viz., defendants 2, 3, 4 and 7. All the properties are the properties of Abdul Razack Maricar. He died in December 1980. Under the Muslim Law, widow viz., Saraummal/first defendant is entitled to 1/8 share and the remaining estate shall be taken by the residuary heirs namely sons and daughters in the ratio of 2:1. The deceased Abdul Razack Maricar left a registered Will dated 28.5.1973 bequeathing his entire properties in favour of the first defendant and the Will is not valid as the sons and other co-sharers were not given any share. Therefore, the suit was filed for partition.

3. The first defendant filed the written statement and the same was adopted by the defendants 3 and 7. It is stated that the Will dated 28.5.1973 is a perfect valid document and under the Will Abdul Razack Maricar bequeathed all his properties in favour of the first defendant and since then the first defendant was in enjoyment of the same and the Will was executed with the knowledge and consent of the legal representatives and even after the death of Abdul Razack Maricar, the plaintiffs have given consent for the Will. It is also stated that at the time of marriage of the first defendant with Abdul Razack Maricar, he was 48 years old and the first defendant was 16 years old and at that time Abdul Razack Maricar had six sons through his first and second wives and therefore, at the time of marriage Abdul Razack Maricar assured that he would execute a Will in favour of the first defendant in respect of his properties and pursuant to the assurance given, the Will was executed and for the past more than ten years, no objection was raised by the plaintiffs regarding the Will and the properties are enjoyed by the first defendant and the plaintiffs also had given consent after the death of the testator and the suit is also barred by limitation.

4. On the basis of the above said pleadings, the following issues were framed:

"1.Whether the suit is barred by limitation?

2. Whether the Will of Abdul Razack Maricar dated 28.5.1973 dis-entitled the plaintiff from claiming any right in the suit properties?

3. Whether the Will of Abdul Razack Maricar dated 28.5.1973 is valid only to the extent of 1/3 share of his properties?

4. Whether the first defendant has perfected her title to the suit properties by adverse possession?

5. Whether the plaintiffs are entitled to partition of the suit properties and if so, what are their respective shares?"

5. On the side of the plaintiffs, the first plaintiff was examined as P.W.1 and 11 documents were marked as Exs.A.1 to A.11 and on the side of the defendants, 4th defendant was examined as D.W.1 and no document was marked as exhibit.

6. On the basis of the evidence and materials, the learned trial Court has held that there was implied consent by the other legal heirs for the Will dated 28.5.1973 executed by the Abdul Razack Maricar other legal heirs also kept quiet for more than 20 years, therefore, Will was valid and binding on others. Ultimately, the learned trial Court has dismissed the suit. Aggrieved over the same, the present appeal came to be filed by the first plaintiff.

7. The learned Senior Counsel appearing for the appellant submitted that the property belonged to the father of the plaintiffs. The first defendant is the third wife propounded the Will. The trial C



































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