New Delhi
The Supreme Court at last decided last week a case that started in 1955 in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, over a will and went on for 65 years across various forums of the courts. A Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and K M Joseph dismissed the appeals filed by late V Kalyanaswamy and others challenging the 2007 judgment of the Madras High Court with regard to a family dispute revolving around the will but actually related to a partition in the Naidu family in 1932.
It held that the widow of one brother, Rangaswamy, had become the absolute owner under the Hindu Succession Act and no rights vested in anybody after she had given up all her rights in favour of the respondents through a compromise decree in 1958.
Noting the chequered history of the litigation in a lengthy 271-page judgment on July 17, the bench said the entire case was based on one A Alagiriswamy having rights in a property while the court found that he had no rights. It held that the partition or will executed in 1958 cannot be upheld.
One R Venkitusamy Naidu had two sons—Lakshmiah and Rangaswamy. The latter was married to R Krishnammal and they didn't have children. Lakshmiah had four sons and a property possession dispute started in 1955 after his death. Rangaswami's widow and nephew on one side and Lakshmiah's sons on the other. The widow died after executing a "will", but a magistrate decided in favour of Lakshmiah, without discussing the will.
A suit filed in 1958 by Rangaswami's widow ended in a compromise decree. Two other family members in 1963 filed a suit which resulted in another compromise decree. After Krishnammal and a son of her late husband's brother died in 1977 and 1976 respectively, another suit was filed for partition that was ordered by a sub-judge in Coimbatore.
The legal heirs of Lakshmiah questioned the will on the ground that it was obtained by coercion. Their suit was decreed but the first appellate court reversed the findings. Both the courts had held that there was no proof of the 1932 partition.
