Premise -
My father-in-law died intestate in 2010 leaving behind few acres of ancestral land in Raigad dist., Maharashtra. He is survived by his wife, two married daughters, one daughter-in-law (my brother-in-law passed away 3 yrs. ago). My wife is the youngest daughter.
Dispute -
My father-in-law (A) had a younger brother (B) and younger sister (C). Govt. of Maharashtra entitled all ancestral property to my father-in-law (A) in the decade of 1950's since both his younger brother (B) and younger sister (C) were minors at that time. All three (A, B and C) have died. My father-in-law (A) didn't partition / distribute the share of ancestral land to B and C while they were alive. Therefore the son of younger brother (B) has filed a claim in the court for his father's share of the ancestral land and is pursuing it for past 5 years. The claim states that my father-in-law had sold / transferred few acres of the original land for a consideration. The plaintiff has attached corroborative documents with the plaint. We were clueless about the dealings and possessions of my father-in-law in connection with the ancestral land till he died.
We (defendants - A's heirs) have approached the plaintiff (B's heir) to resolve the matter out of court. Accordingly we (Plaintiff and Defendant) have made a joint representation to the court for referring the case to a court appointed arbitrator for disposal to which the court has agreed.
Questions -
Can the arbitrator approve a compensation in favor of the plaintiff for the alleged part of land sold by my father-in-law if sufficiently proved?
Can we demand unconditional revocation of the court claim (including all allegations made and compensations claimed) from the plaintiff as a prerequisite for partitioning / distributing the share of land?
The land in question is not contiguous and is in five different pieces around the village. Can we ask of a choice of keeping a particular piece of the land as our share?
Would the arbitrators order be final and binding on both parties or is there an appeal possible in the court?
Thank you in anticipation of advice.
