When an adequate joint family nucleus is established, property acquired in the name of a family member is presumed to be joint family property, shifting the burden to the claimant of self-acquisition to prove it was acquired without family financial assistance.

JUDGMENT

The plaintiffs in O.S. No. 56 of 2004, on the file of the learned II Additional District Judge, Trichy have filed this appeal suit, challenging the judgment and decree passed in O.S. No. 56 of 2004, by the impugned judgment dated 25.09.2013 in so far as the dismissal of the suit for partition relating to the Item Nos. 1 and 3 of the suit scheduled property.

2. For better appreciation of this First Appeal suit, the rank of the parties mentioned in the suit is referred hereunder:

2.1.The plaintiffs filed the suit claiming 1/6 share in the suit item Nos. 1, 3, 7/21 share in Item No. 4 and 7/11 share in Item No. 5.

2.2.The plaintiff Put forth a case that their parent is A.V.Kumaraswamy and Navaneethammal . Raj Kumar, Kamalabai, Lakshmibai, Sundaravalli, Neelavathi, Jayanthi, Chandrasekaran, Raghunathan, Thulasiram are their brothers and sisters. He retired from Southern Railway Department in the year 1939 and commenced a business by investing all his retirement benefits under the name and style of “A.V. Kumaraswamy and Sons”having its principal place of business at No.58, B.K.Bazaar, Tiruchirapalli. The business involved manufacture and sale of pillows, carpets, waxing materials, banian, undergarments, woollen goods, and similar things. He continuously conducted the said business until his demise in the year 1949.During his lifetime, the second son Krishnamoorthy was designated as the manager of the family business and controlled its operation sand after his demise, A.V. Krishnamurthy, one of the sons, was managing the family business and administering the family affairs as the joint family manager. . In the meantime, the other sons, Rajagopalan, Chandrasekharan, Raghunathan, and Tulasiraman, joined various government departments. Therefore, Krishnamoorthy managed the family business and looked after the family affairs.

2.3.Item No. 2 of the suit schedule property was the ancestral house where all the family members resided together. With a view to uplift poor and needy children, A.V. Krishnamurthy started an elementary school known as the “Saurashtra Aided Elementary School” in place nearby the house at Saurashtra Street and due to lack of sufficient space, it became difficult to continue the school in that location necessitating larger premises. To continue the educational institution, a house property was purchased in the Thillai Nagar Housing Construction Co-operative Society in the name of the elder member of the family, Rajagopalan, in accordance with family tradition. The purchase and subsequent modifications to the building were made using funds derived from the joint family business and agricultural income.

2.4.The school was thereafter relocated to Item No.3 of the suit property, while the family continued to reside jointly in Item No.2 the school was closed and all were shifted to Item No.3 of the suit property. Later, Rajagopalan got transfer in his employment and began residing elsewhere along with his family, But Item No. 3 was rented out and was in common enjoyment.

2.5.Apart from these, the remaining suit properties—Items 4 and 5— comprised agricultural wet lands that generated sufficient income through paddy cultivation (both Samba and Kuruvai crops). After the death of A.V. Kumaraswamy, these lands were cultivated by his other sons.

2.6.The plaintiffs contended that the purchase of Item No. 3 was intended to be for the benefit of the joint family and that the said property was enjoyed as such. Raghunathan later obtained employment with Karur Vysya Bank, for which purpose a mortgage security deed was executed jointly by Rajagopalan, Krishnamurthy, and Raghunathan, clearly reciting that the property cons