59 years on, Rajasthan HC delivers verdict in family land dispute case

JODHPUR: Possibly the oldest unresolved civil matter of the country, which had reached court in 1959, was finally disposed of at the Jodhpur bench of the Rajasthan High Court on as January 3. The trial court had handed out judgment in the matter in 1988 but the matter had been lying pending in the high court since then after one of the party challenged the trial court's order in the high court.

Interestingly, three generations of the family fighting this case have passed away and presently the fourth generation had been fighting this case in the court.

Only one member of the family from the older generation, Banshidhar, aged 90 years, is alive, who had tears of joy and satisfaction in his eyes after the court's judgment.

According to Shyam Sunder Ladrecha, counsel for the petitioners, the entire property belonged to one Surajmal of Sriganganagar, who had two wives. The dispute began after his first wife was deprived of share in his ancestral property.

"The two wives had five sons. Hari Kishan and Banshidhar were from first wife Kunti and Ram Pratap, Gauri Shanker and Abhimanyu from second wife Mathura," said Ladrecha adding that Surajmal willed the ancestral land piece of 142 bigha to the sons of his second wife and deprived the sons from his first wife of their rights.

Challenging this will, Hari Kishan filed a suit in the sessions court in 1959 and got the decree that the entire property be divided equally in eight parts for Surajmal, his two wives and five sons terming the equal right of all the five sons on the land of their grandfather.

In 1961, Surajmal challenged the decree in the high court, which also upheld the order of the lower court directing to arrange for immediate distribution and possession of all concerned.

‘Only surviving person is 90-yr-old’

In due course, Surajmal and both of his wives passed away but the youngest son of Mathura kept on dragging the matter by writing a fake will in favour of his three sons, which was challenged by elder son of Kunti Hari Kishan in the high court.HC rejected the will and on January 3 Justice Dinesh Mehta disposed of the matter directing equal distribution of the land piece among all five brothers.

According to the petitioner, Hari Kishan’s son Vaid Prakash, the four brothers passed away in due course of this petition and the only surviving person is Banshidhar, son of Kunti, who had turned 90 now.

While Vaid Prakash and Banshidhar had been appearing in the court as the original petitioners, from the respondent’s side, three sons of Abhimanyu had been appearing in the court after the death of Abhimanyu.



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