preliminary decree - The Legal Chamber

The Supreme Court held that unregistered partition deeds can be used collaterally to prove severance of joint family status and subsequent separate possession. Valid registered release deeds by coparceners are immediately effective to sever their interest, not contingent on being "acted upon," and can create an equitable estoppel against future claims. Facts Of The Case: The case involves a partition suit concerning the joint family property of Pillappa, who died in 1969. The plaintiffs, his sons and daughters, sought division of Schedule A properties (ancestral) and Schedule B properties (purchased jointly in the names of defendant no. 5, a son, and defendant no. 6, a son-in-law). Defendant no. 5 contested, claiming a prior partition between him and plaintiff no. 1 in 1972 via an ...

The Supreme Court held that the High Court exceeded its limited review jurisdiction under Section 114 and Order 47 of the CPC. A review cannot re-appreciate evidence or reverse findings as an appeal would. The order under review did not correct a patent error but substituted a view, which is impermissible in review proceedings. Facts Of The Case: The case originated from a partition suit (O.S. No. 192 of 2000) filed by Subramani against his father, Munusamy Naidu, concerning ancestral properties. An ex-parte preliminary decree was passed in 2003, dividing the property into two equal shares. The Appellant, Malleeswari, who is the daughter of Munusamy Naidu, was not initially impleaded in this suit. Subsequent to the decree, her father executed a sale deed in favor of the first respo...