The court established that without evidence proving properties as joint family assets, claims to them by family members fail, reaffirming the burden of proof lies with those asserting joint status.

JUDGMENT :

S.S. SUNDAR, J.

1. The plaintiff in the suit in OS.No.17/2006 on the file of Additional District Court-cum-Fast Track Court No.1, Erode, is the appellant in the above Appeal. The suit is for partition of plaintiff's 1/3^rd share in all the suit properties which are described as Items No.1 to 14.

2. Respondents 1 to 12 are defendants 1 to 12 in the suit in OS.No.17/2006. The appellant and respondents, who are plaintiff and defendants, are close relatives. The appellant who is the plaintiff, is the son of one Thiru.Nanjappa Mudaliyar who died in the year 1952. The 1st defendant is none else than the brother of the appellant herein. The 6th defendant is the wife of 1st defendant. Thiru.Nanjappa Mudaliyar had two wives. Through the first wife Chinnammal, he had a son by name Nachimuthu, who died on 06.07.2000. Wife of Thiru.Nachimuthu, Mrs.Parvatham, died even earlier on 02.04.1993. Thiru.Nanjappa Mudailyar had three more daughters through his first wife Smt.Chinnammal. Admittedly, Chinnammal, the first wife died long back and after her life time, Thiru.Nanjappa Mudaliyar married second wife. The daughters of Thiru.Nanjappa Mudaliyar, through first wife had no right or claim in the properties of Thiru.Nanjappa Mudaliyar. Therefore, they were not impleaded as parties in the suit. The 2nd wife of Thiru.Nanjappa Mudaliyar is Smt.Seerangayammal died on 22.03.1991. Through the 2nd wife Thiru.Nanjappa Mudaliyar had three sons by name Tvl.Sadasivam, Iyyavu and Dharmalingam and two daughters by name Pappathi @ Sarojini and Chandra, who is the 12th defendant in the suit. Thiru.Sadasivam died on 04.12.1983 and he had one son by name Mohanasundaram and three daughters by name Jayanthi, Santhi and Kalaivani. The son and daugthers of Thiru.Sadasivam are impleaded as defendants 2 to 5. The wife of Thiru.Iyyavu by name Smt.Sampoornam is the 6th defendant in the suit. The sister of plaintiff and 1st defendant by name Pappathi @ Sarojini died on 27.09.2003 even before filing of suit and therefore, her son by name Murugesan is impleaded as 7th defendant. The 7th defendant also died on 22.04.2010 during pendency of the proceedings and therefore, his heirs were impleaded as defendants 8 to 11.

3. The case of the plaintiff in the plaint is that his father Thiru.Nanjappa Mudaliyar purchased Item No.1 of the Suit Schedule properties out of his income from the business as he himself was a weaver. It is the further case of plaintiff that after the death of Thiru.Nanjappa Mudaliyar, his elder son Thiru.Nachimuthu [born through the 1st wife] took over the business and he was acting as a Manager of the joint family. From out of the joint family income Thiru.Nachimuthu started a business in textiles along with one Thambanna Mudaliyar and Nachimuthu. It is his case that Nachimuthu was carrying on the said business in his capacity as a joint family Manager. It is also stated that after the retirement of Thambanna Mudaliyar, the other partner in the business, Thiru.Nachimuthu, took over the entier business. It is the case of plaintiff that female members of the family were made as members of Erode Weavers Cooperative Society. Item No.2 in the suit schedule properties was allotted in the name of mother of plaintiff and 1st defendant, namely, Seerangayammal and the property in Item No.3 was allotted in the name of Parvatham, wife of Thiru.Nachimuthu. Since Item Nos.2 and 3 though purchased in the names of female members of the family, the female members had no independent source of income to purchase the suit