- UNDER S.16 OF THE INDIAN CONTRACT ACT 1872
- BENCH: A G Shah, K Hegde
FACTS:
- The Plaintiff had filed a suit through his daughter and a friend for cancellation and of a prior will and a subsequent deed of settlement superseding the will which was executed by him
- The Plaintiff had gifted away almost all his entire properties which were attributed to his eldest grandson who is the respondent excluding his two daughters and other grandchildren being eight in total
- The Plaintiff however retained an exclusive life interest over all the properties and made some provisions for the maintenance of his wife Lakshmi Amma who is the Appellant in the case
ISSUE:
- Whether the deed of settlement was executed in circumstances which rendered it invalid and void
APPELLANT’s CONTENTIONS:
- That the deed was registered when the executor was not in a healthy state to understand the consequence and was weak in his body
- That the executor was not consulted before the deed was drafted.
RESPONDENT’s CONTENTIONS:
- That the deed was prepared after the Plaintiff gave the instructions to draft the document under his signature
JUDGEMENT:
The Supreme Court set aside the order of the High Court which was passed in favour of the Respondents and upheld the decision of the trial court. It was held that the current facts and circumstances raised grave concern over the genuineness over the execution of the deed. The Respondent had failed to satisfy the court regarding the same. The Appeal was allowed with costs.
