Smt Saroja Devi vs Sri N Krishna Murthy

Headnote AI-drafted · Reviewed and approved

This is a Regular First Appeal filed by the unsuccessful plaintiff No. 2 (appellant), challenging the judgment and decree passed by the III Additional City Civil Judge, Bangalore City in O.S. No. 1563/1996, which dismissed the suit for partition, separate possession and mesne profits. The suit was filed by the plaintiffs claiming that the suit schedule property was the self-acquired property of their father, Sri. N. Sharabalingam Naidu, and that they along with the defendants, being legal heirs, were entitled to 1/7th share each in the said property.

The Trial Court dismissed the suit on two grounds: first, that since the propositus died in 1949, before the codification of Hindu law, daughters were not entitled to succeed to property left behind by a male Hindu; and second, that the plaintiffs had not properly valued the relief sought in the plaint as required under Section 35(2) of the Karnataka Court-Fee and Suits Valuation Act, 1958.

The appellant challenged the Trial Court's findings, relying upon the Supreme Court's decision in Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma & Others, contending that the date of death of the propositus is of no consequence in view of the law laid down therein regarding daughters' rights as coparceners under the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005. The High Court was called upon to consider the correctness of the Trial Court's findings on both the question of succession rights of daughters and the valuation of the suit.

Catchwords: partition · Hindu succession · daughters' right to share · self-acquired property · propositus death before Hindu Succession Act · Hindu law codification · Vineeta Sharma principle · court fee valuation · Karnataka Court-Fee and Suits Valuation Act · coparcenary rights · legal heirs