Partition of the house
Rohit Malhan
(Querist) 20 June 2012
This query is : Resolved
Mr. Madan is the karta of a Joint Hindu Family. The family has 14 members in total three sons, namely, Shyam, Nandlal, Gomatilal , their wives, Leela, Shyma, Vyoma respectively and their children. They were living happily in the house, called as Mohanto Mahal, in Bikaner district of Rajasthan. The house was an ancestral house of Mr. Madan’s wife, Mrs. Daulat Devi, who died in 2008 December leaving all her assets in the name of her husband only in her properly executed will, except the house. The house was owned by Mr. Ladoodan ji, father of Mrs. Daulat Devi, who was the legal owner, having all evidence of ownership of that house. He died in 1964, before that in 1963, he adopted Daulat’s elder son Shyam (who was 5 years old at that time) by the means of rituals and before five panchas (headmen of the village) as his son and declared him his legal heir. But till the death of Mrs. Daulat , Shyam and his family remained with Mr. Madan and Daulat. Since Madan was the karta, he was managing all the property of the family including the house, whose lifetime interest was given to Daulat by Ladoodan, in the capacity of a caretaker and manager. Shyam, though was adopted by Ladoodan, but never accepted him as his father and called Madan and Daulat, who were declared as his guardians (as he was minor at that time) as his father and mother. Interestingly, in 1968, when Shyam was 10 years old, in the capacity of the legal guardian Madan, sold the north part of the house to Mr. Kanjilal for Rs. 50,000/- only and deposited the money in a Fixed Account for Shyam and Nandlal both. In 1970, Madan got signature of Shyam on a paper where it was written that he is transferring the south and central part of the house to Madan, Shyam knowingly accepted this and signed the paper. The paper was just a simple piece of paper bearing no legal importance. Later on after Mrs. Daulat’s death in 2008, Nandlal and Gomatilal demanded for partition. But Shyam demanded that he is the owner of the house, as he is the legal owner of the house and Ladoodan ji’s legal heir.
Nadeem Qureshi
(Expert) 21 June 2012
Dear Querist
what do you want to ask?
Rohit Malhan
(Querist) 21 June 2012
Thanks for responding Nadeem. I want to ask whether the house would be partitioned or not? If partitioned then in which shares?
Shonee Kapoor
(Expert) 21 June 2012
As Mrs. Daulat transferred the said palace (haveli) in the name of her husband by will. The property would devolve on him.
Further transfer can be way of family settlement/ law of succession as applicable to Mr. Madan,
This property doesnot have the colour of an ancestral property.
Regards,
Shonee Kapoor
harassed.by.498a@gmail.com
Rohit Malhan
(Querist) 21 June 2012
Hello Mr. Shonee Mrs. Daulat Devi has not made a will regarding the house ( as you carefully read the para ). If she would have transferred the house then there would have not been any confusion. The house was under the legal ownership of Mr Ladoodan, father of Daulat Devi.
