Dispute Over Joint Property Leads to Dismissal of Appeal in Favor of Co-Owners' Rights.
10 September 2024
Civil Appeals >> Civil & Consumer Law
The dispute in this Civil Appeal of SK. Golam Lalchand v/s Nandu Lal Shaw @ Nand Lal Keshri @ Nandu Lal Bayes & Others., centers around a property located at 100/3 Carry Road, Howrah, measuring approximately 6 Cottahs and 17 rooms. The plaintiff, Nandu Lal, claims that he and his brothers acquired rights to the property from their late father, Salik Ram, and that his cousin, Brij Mohan (son of Salik Ram's brother Sita Ram), had no exclusive right to sell the property. Nandu Lal filed a suit against the defendant, S.K. Golam Lalchand, who purchased the property from Brij Mohan, arguing that Brij Mohan did not have the authority to sell the entire property, as it was co-owned by multiple heirs, including Nandu Lal. The suit was dismissed by the trial court, but the First Appellate Court reversed the decision, and the High Court upheld the ruling, leading to the current appeal.
The key legal issue is whether Brij Mohan had the right to sell the entire property to S.K. Golam Lalchand without partitioning it among the co-owners. The courts found that since the property was not partitioned and no evidence was presented to support a family settlement or gift of property from Salik Ram to Sita Ram, the property remained jointly owned. Therefore, Brij Mohan could only sell his share, and the sale deed was not valid for the entire property. The appeal was dismissed, and the injunction against the defendant was upheld, reinforcing the need for proper partition before transferring the property.