TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2021 (6) TMI 1140
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.... J. These two appeals have been filed challenging the Division Bench judgment dated 23.11.2011 of Madras High Court dismissing the A.S. No.281 of 2000 and A.S. No.332 of 1999 filed by the appellants respectively. The parties shall be referred to as described in O.S.No.1101 of 1987 (S.R. Somasundaram vs. S.K. Kumarasamy). The appellant, R. Janakiammal in C.A.No.1537 of 2016 was defendant No.7 in O.S.No.1101 of 1987 whereas S.R. Somasundaram, appellant in C.A.No.1538 of 2016 was the plaintiff in O.S.No.1101 of 1987. Janakiammal is the mother of Somasundaram. Relevant facts and events necessary to decide these two appeals are: 2. The parties came from Pattanam, Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu. We may notice the Genealogical Tree of the family which is to the following effect: 3. The plaintiff, S.R. Somasundaram and his mother, Janakiammal who are the appellants in these two appeals belong to branch of Rangasamy Gounder whereas other two branches are of S.K. Kumarasamy,D-1 and S.K. Chinnasamy,D-4. Three brothers with their father A.V. Kandasamy Gounder were residing as a joint family in ancestral house at Sadapalayam Hemlet, Karumathampatti Village, Palladam Taluka, District C....
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....ai and after completing his studies came back to Coimbatore in the year 1979. 6. In Coimbatore one Vasudeva Industries Ltd., which was in liquidation since 1967 was taken on lease from official liquidator of Madras High Court by one Shroff, who along with defendant No.4, S.K. Chinnasamy formed a partnership firm to run Vasudeva Industries Ltd. Defendant No.1, S.K. Kumarasamy was appointed as General Manager to look after the affairs of Vasudeva Industries Limited. An application was filed in the year 1981 in Company Petition No.39 of 1956. Defendant No.1, S.K. Kumarasamy filed an affidavit in support of Company Application No.320 of 1981 praying that liquidation proceedings be closed. On 30.04.1981, the High Court of Madras passed order directing convening of a meeting of the creditors. In the meeting of creditors a draft scheme submitted was approved on 09.06.1981, Madras High Court passed an order on 22.01.1982 allowed the application filed by defendant No.1, permanently stayed the liquidation proceedings and permitted running of Vasudeva Industries Ltd. by the Board of Directors. On 03.02.1982 a Resolution was passed to bring the mills under the control of the Board of Direct....
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.... described hereunder; c) directing the defendants to pay cost of the suit;" 8. The plaint Schedule 'B' included ancestral land in Palladam and Samalapuram villages with house at Sadapalayam Helmet. Schedule 'C' included various immovable properties and included residential building, shares in M/s. Swamy and Swamy Plantations (P) Ltd. Coonoor, and shares of M/s. Vasudeva Industries Ltd. were also mentioned as item Nos. 10 and 11 of Scheduled 'C'. In the above suit only defendant Nos.1 to 3 of the suit, namely, S.K. Kumarasamy, Sundarambal, wife of S.K. Kumarasamy and minor Kandavadivel son of S.K. Kumarasamy filed their written statements. In the written statement, it was pleaded that no doubt some properties have been acquired jointly in the names of the defendant Nos.1, 3, 4,9 and 10, but they must be deemed to be only cosharers in respect of those properties. It was pleaded that three branches were allotted shares in 1960 partition and plaint case that parties continued to live jointly was denied. 9. In O.S.No.37 of 1984, an application under Order XXIII Rule 3 was filed on 06.08.1984 by the plaintiff containing signatures of plaintiff and d....
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....l, and was not to be given effect to. Additional written statements were filed by defendant Nos.1 to 3. Defendant No.10 also filed written statement supporting the case of defendant No.1. Reply was filed by plaintiff, Somasundaram to the written statements filed by defendant Nos. 1 to 3. 12. Five witnesses were examined on behalf of the plaintiff. Somasundaram, plaintiff appeared as PW.1. The plaintiff filed Exhs. A-1 to A-55. On the side of defendants, four witnesses were examined. Janakiammal appeared as DW.2 whereas S.K. Kumarasamy appeared as DW.1. Exh.B-1 to B-104 were marked on behalf of the defendants. Exh. X-I to X-27 have been marked through witnesses. 13. The trial court framed five issues and six additional issues. One of the additional issues was that whether the suit is not maintainable under Order XXIII Rule 3A of the CPC. The trial court vide its judgment dated 30.09.1997 dismissed the suit. The trial court upheld the plea of defendant Nos.1 to 3 that O.S.No.1101 of 1987 was barred by Order XXIII Rule 3A CPC. The trial court also upheld the partition deed dated 07.11.1960 and the agreement dated 08.03.1981. The trial court held that after the year 1960 the enti....
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.... loan from Punjab National Bank. Hence, basis of the suit that they signed the compromise deed on the representation of defendant No.1 and that the plaintiff and defendant having given personal guarantee for loan obtained for Vasudeva Industries Ltd., to save family properties from claim of the Bank, the properties be kept only in the name of defendant No.1 and defendant No.4 but the right of the plaintiff and defendants will be held intact. 16. The High Court held that it has not been proved that any personal guarantee was given by the plaintiff, the very ground pleaded by the plaintiff is knocked out. The High Court further held that suit was barred by Order XXIII Rule 3A CPC and only remedy available was to question the compromise decree in the same suit. The High Court dismissed both the appeals. Aggrieved by the judgment of the High Court, these two appeals have been filed. 17. We have heard Shri V. Giri and Shri Gaurav Agrawal, learned senior counsel for the appellants. Shri Kapil Sibal, learned senior counsel has appeared for contesting respondents. Shri S. Nagamuthu, learned senior counsel has appeared for defendant No.11 and other defendants. 18. Shri V.Giri, lear....
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....were in the name of Smt. Kamalam were never transferred to Janakaiammal. Janakiammal fully supported the plaint case of suit No.1101 of 1987. 22. The partition agreement dated 08.03.1981 as pleaded by D-1 was only an imaginary story. No such agreement was filed in the court nor the same was pleaded in a written statement filed by D.1-3 in O.S. No.37 of 1984. Despite the agreement dated 08.03.1981 not being produced in the Court, the trial court in its judgment dated 30.09.1997 had erroneously accepted the factum of partition by agreement dated 08.03.1981 and accepted the case of defendant No.1 that compromise decree dated 06.08.1984 was to give effect to the partition dated 08.03.1981. 23. No partition was affected in the year 1981 and the family remained as a joint family. In O.S. No.37 of 1984, the house property at Tatabad which was in the name of D-1, was not included, which property was purchased by joint family fund and the three branches had share in house at Tatabad which was mentioned at item No.10 in Schedule C of Suit No.1101 of 1987. 24. The pleading of defendant No.1 that under the agreement dated 08.03.1981, the plaintiff was to pay Rs. Seven Lakhs to D-4 and....
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....neering. Vasudeva Industries was not a family concern, which was under litigation and was not a profit making venture. The consent decree dated 06.08.1984 was never acted upon. The mill could not be revived and closed down in 1987. The defendant No.1 continued to manage the affairs of the mill till 1989 when he resigned. 28. Shri Kapil Sibal refuting the submissions of the appellants contends that partition dated 07.11.1960 between three branches was given effect to. Income Tax Returns were filed by three branches on the basis of 1960 partition. There was an arrangement made in 1981 under which the D-1 was to take properties at Coonoor, D-4 was to take properties at Somnur whereas plaintiff and defendant No.1 decided to take Vasudeva Textiles Mills. The Suit No.37 of 1984 was filed by the son of D-4 at his instance. 29. Shri Sibal submits that the Suit No.37 of 1984 has been decided on compromise where all the defendants have signed the compromise application including Janakiammal as well as Somasundaram. The Vakalatnama on behalf of defendant Nos.7 to 11 was filed by Advocate Thirumalnesan who represented defendants 8 to 11. It is submitted that plaintiff and D-10 were all e....
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....ri Giri submits that the judgment of the trial court dated 06.08.1984 in O.S. No.37 of 1984 states that Vakalatnama of defendant Nos.8 to 13 was not filed. He submits that certified copy of Vakalatnama filed by advocate Thirumalnesan on behalf of defendant Nos.8 to 13 has also not been brought on record and according to the papers submitted by D-1, the Vakalatnama and the documents have been destroyed. How can D-1 say that the Vakalatnama has been destroyed. 35. Shri Giri submits that the house at Tatabad which was included as Item No.10 in Schedule C in Suit No.1101 of 1987 was purchased from a joint family fund. Although the house was taken in auction by D-1 but the consideration for house was not paid by D-1 individually, rather the amount was obtained from company Swamy and Swamy Plantations, which is a private limited company in which D-1, D-4 and D-10 had shares. The Branch of Rangasamy in Swamy and Swamy Plantations had about more than onethird share. The Tatabad house having been obtained from a private company which was a family business, all the branches shall have shares in the house. The Suit No.37 of 1984 having not included the Tatabad house, the suit for partition....
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....ation-An agreement or compromise which is void or voidable under the Indian Contract Act, 1872 (9 of 1872), shall not be deemed to be lawful within the meaning of this rule;" 40. By the same amendment Act No.104 of 1976, a new Rule, i.e., Rule 3A was added providing "3A. Bar to suit. No suit shall lie to set aside a decree on the ground that the compromise on which the decree is based was not lawful." 41. Determination of disputes between persons and bodies is regulated by law. The legislative policy of all legislatures is to provide a mechanism for determination of dispute so that dispute may come to an end and peace in society be restored. Legislative policy also aims for giving finality of the litigation, simultaneously providing higher forum of appeal/revision to vend the grievances of an aggrieved party. Rule 3A which has been added by above amendment provides that no suit shall lie to set aside a decree on the ground that the compromise on which the decree is based was not lawful. At the same time, by adding the proviso in Rule 3, it is provided that when there is a dispute as to whether an adjustment or satisfaction has been arrived at, the same shall be decid....
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....e party whose consent was so caused. A party to a contract whose consent was caused by fraud or misrepresentation, may, if he thinks fit, insist that the contract shall be performed, and that he shall be put in the position in which he would have been if the representations made had been true. Exception.-If such consent was caused by misrepresentation or by silence, fraudulent within the meaning of section 17, the contract, nevertheless, is not voidable, if the party whose consent was so caused had the means of discovering the truth with ordinary diligence. Explanation.-A fraud or misrepresentation which did not cause the consent to a contract of the party on whom such fraud was practised, or to whom such misrepresentation was made, does not render a contract voidable." 44. A conjoint reading of Sections 10, 13 and 14 indicates that when consent is obtained by coercion, undue influence, fraud, misrepresentation or mistake, such consent is not free consent and the contract becomes voidable at the option of the party whose consent was caused due to coercion, fraud or misrepresentation. An agreement, which is void or voidable under the Indian Contract Act....
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....d only to save the family property since the plaintiff has given personal guarantee to the Punjab National Bank for obtaining loan for Vasudeva Mills. Pleadings clearly make out the case of the plaintiff that the consent which he gave for compromise by signing the compromise was not free consent. The compromise, thus, become voidable at the instance of the plaintiff. 48. Whether the bar under Rule 3A of Order XXIII shall be attracted in the facts of the present case as held by the Courts below is the question to be answered by us. Rule 3A bars the suit to set aside the decree on the ground that compromise on which decree was passed was not lawful. As noted above, the word "lawful" has been used in Rule 3 and in the Explanation of Rule 3 states that "an agreement or compromise which is void or voidable under the Indian Contract Act,1872 (9 of 1872), shall not be deemed to be lawful...................;" 49. Thus, an agreement or compromise which is clearly void or voidable shall not be deemed to be lawful and the bar under Rule 3A shall be attracted if compromise on the basis of which decree was passed was void or voidable. 50. Order XXIII Rule 3 as well as Rule 3A came for ....
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....y the other that an adjustment or satisfaction has been arrived at, the Court shall decide the question; but no adjournment shall be granted for the purpose of deciding the question, unless the Court, for reasons to be recorded, thinks fit to grant such adjournment. Explanation.- An agreement or compromise which is void or voidable under the Indian Contract Act, 1872 (9 of 1872), shall not be deemed to be lawful within the meaning of this rule." 7. By adding the proviso along with an explanation the purpose and the object of the amending Act appears to be to compel the party challenging the compromise to question the same before the court which had recorded the compromise in question. That court was enjoined to decide the controversy whether the parties have arrived at an adjustment in a lawful manner. The explanation made it clear that an agreement or a compromise which is void or voidable under the Indian Contract Act shall not be deemed to be lawful within the meaning of the said rule. Having introduced the proviso along with the explanation in Rule 3 in order to avoid multiplicity of suit and prolonged litigation, a specific bar was prescribed by Rule 3A in re....
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....few days thereafter (that is on 2782001) filed an appeal and chose not to pursue the application filed before the court which passed the consent decree. Such an appeal by the second defendant was not maintainable, having regard to the express bar contained in Section 96(3) of the Code." 52. The next judgment is R. Rajanna Vs. S.R. Venkataswamy and Ors., (2014) 15 SCC 471 in which provisions of Order XXIII Rule 3 and Rule 3A were again considered. After extracting the aforesaid provisions, following was held by this Court in paragraph 11: " 11. It is manifest from a plain reading of the above that in terms of the proviso to Order 23 Rule 3 where one party alleges and the other denies adjustment or satisfaction of any suit by a lawful agreement or compromise in writing and signed by the parties, the Court before whom such question is raised, shall decide the same. What is important is that in terms of Explanation to Order 23 Rule 3, the agreement or compromise shall not be deemed to be lawful within the meaning of the said Rule if the same is void or voidable under the Contract Act, 1872. It follows that in every case where the question arises whether or not there has bee....
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.... the compromise and separate suit is not maintainable. In paragraphs 17 and 18, following has been laid down: " 17. By introducing the amendment to the Civil Procedure Code (Amendment) 1976 w.e.f. 1-2-1977, the legislature has brought into force Order 23 Rule 3A, which creates bar to institute the suit to set aside a decree on the ground that the compromise on which decree is based was not lawful. The purpose of effecting a compromise between the parties is to put an end to the various disputes pending before the court of competent jurisdiction once and for all. 18. Finality of decisions is an underlying principle of all adjudicating forums. Thus, creation of further litigation should never be the basis of a compromise between the parties. Rule 3A of Order 23 CPC put a specific bar that no suit shall lie to set aside a decree on the ground that the compromise on which the decree is based was not lawful. The scheme of Order 23 Rule 3 CPC is to avoid multiplicity of litigation and permit parties to amicably come to a settlement which is lawful, is in writing and a voluntary act on the part of the parties. The court can be instrumental in having an agreed compromise ....
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....rty was not a part in O.S. No.37 of 1984 and was not in compromise decree dated 06.08.1984. The averment of the appellant is that the said residential property was although in the name of defendant No.1 but it was acquired from joint family funds hence the appellant had also share in the property. 59. The residential building at Tatabad, Dr. Alagappa Chettiar Road, Coimbatore was included in Item No.10 of Schedule 'B' of properties to the following effect: "Item No.X In Coimbatore Registration on District, Coimbatore Corporation Limits, Tatabad, Dr. Alagappa Chettiar Road, D.No.101, Extent 0.33 acres with 4500 sq.ft. built up residential building." 60. The above residential property was neither included in O.S.No.37 of 1984 nor part of compromise decree dated 06.08.1984. The plaintiff's prayer to declare the decree passed in O.S.37 of 1984 as unenforceable shall not preclude the consideration of a property which was not part of the decree. The appellants' case for claiming share in the residential property at Tatabad, Alagappa Chettiar Road, Coimbatore, thus, needs to be considered in these appeals. 61. We may first notice pleadings regard....
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....h account it was drawn. It is not correct to say that I took joint family funds and purchased. I would have taken about Rs.1.50 lakhs. It was not returned. Records cannot be produced now." 65. In subsequent cross-examination, he clearly mentioned that the amount which was taken for the purchase of the house property at Tatabad was not returned to Swamy and Swamy Plantations Co. In his cross-examination on 12.08.1997, defendant No.2 states: "On 12.8.1997 the witness was sworn and re-examined. The reason for not returning the amount to Swamy & Sawmy Plantation Company from which it was borrowed for the purchase of the house in Tatabad, because there was credit balance in my name in the said company." 66. Evidence on record, thus, indicates that Tatabad house property was purchased in the name of defendant No.1 and the consideration for purchase was paid from Swamy and Swamy Plantations Co. having its Directors and shareholders only the family members of all the branches. In his cross-examination defendant No.2 has stated: "We started Co. by name Swamy and Swamy Plantations in 1974 in which members of all the three branches of the family were the share....
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....in the name of all the three branches, living together in ancestral house at Sadapalayam and newly constructed house at Somnur. After the purchase of land in 1963 all the three branches continued to run family businesses together. 71. Learned counsel for the appellants further submits that it is own case of defendant No.1 that partition agreement dated 08.03.1981 took between the parties under which Rangasamy branch agreed to take Vasudeva Textile Mills, the branch of defendant No.1, S.K. Kumarasamy decided to take property at Coonoor and Vedapathi village and Chinnasamy branch decided to take property at Somnur. Defendant No.1 has pleaded that under the agreement dated 08.03.1981, the plaintiff had to pay Rs.7 lacs to defendant No.4 and defendant No.1 had to pay Rs.4 lacs to defendant No.4 to equalise the valuation by partition as was agreed on 08.03.1981. Shri Giri submits that DW.-1 himself came with case that partition had taken place on 08.03.1983 and compromise decree was nothing but implementation of the said agreement. Shri Giri submits that when defendant No.1 himself states about the partition in the year 1981, the partition presupposes the joint family and had the thr....
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....ers of joint family on the relevant date had more than the land which was permitted to a person, a partition was entered to save the properties from land ceiling laws. This argument was rejected by the trial court holding that it has not been proved that land ceiling laws in any manner affected the extent of land in the hands of three brothers. We need to notice some provisions of Tamil Nadu Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling on Land) Act, 1961. Section 3 of the Act which is a definition clause defines the word "person" in Section 3(34) which is to the following effect:- " 3(34). "person" includes any company, family firm, society or association of individuals, whether incorporated or not or any private trust or public trust." 75. Section 5 of the Act provide for ceiling area. According to subsection (1)(a) of Section 5 the ceiling area in the case of every person and in the case of every family consisting of not more than five members was 30 standard acres. Figure of 30 standard acres was subsequently reduced to 15 standard acres by Tamil Nadu Act No. 37 of 1972. Section 5(1)(b) further provided that ceiling area in the case of every family consisting of more than five ....
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....ed; the parties lived in a joint family and continued their joint family status. The contention advanced by the appellant was that there was reunion between three brothers to revert to the status of Joint Hindu Family, which is amply proved from the acts and conducts of the parties subsequent to 07.11.1960. 78. The concept of reunion in Hindu Law is well known. Hindu Joint Family even if partitioned can revert back and reunite to continue the status of joint family. Mulla on Hindu Law, 22nd Edition, while deliberating on reunion has status following in paragraphs 341, 342 and 343:- " 341. Who may reunite,'- A reunion in estate properly so called, can only take place between persons who were parties to the original partition'. It would appear from this that a reunion can take place between any persons who were parties to the original partition. Only males can reunite. 342. Effect of reunion,-The effect of a reunion is to remit the reunited members to their former status as members of a joint Hindu family. 343. Intention necessary to constitute reunion: To constitute a reunion, there must be an intention of the parties to reunite in estate and interest. ....
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....judgment which needs to be noticed is judgment of Madras High Court in Mukku Venkataramayya Vs. Mukku Tatayya and Ors., AIR 1943 Mad. 538. In the above case, there was partition in the family in the year 1903 as a result of which the father with his second wife and children separated and begin to live apart from his sons by the first wife. The case of the respondent was that he and his brothers continued to remain joint after their father decided to remain away from them in 1903. An alternative case was also put forward that there has been a reunion amongst the brothers after the partition. Madras High Court in paragraph 5 stated:- " 5. ..........................But if a general partition between all the members takes place, reunion is the only means by which the joint status can be reestablished. Mere jointness in residence, food or worship or a mere trading together cannot bring about the conversion of the divided status into a joint one with all the usual incidents of jointness in estate and interest unless an intention to become reunited in the sense of the Hindu law is clearly established. The rule is, if I may say so with respect, correctly stated by the Patna High C....
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.... reunion which need to be referred to is the judgment of Karnataka High Court is M/s. Paramanand L. Bajaj, Bangalore Vs. The Commissioner of Income Tax, Karnataka, II, Bangalore, (1981) SCC Online Karnataka 131. Justice Rama Jois after referring to Smritis and relevant judgments on the subject laid down that reunion is the reversal of the process of partition, following was held in paragraphs 8 and 12: " 8. The basic proposition of Hindu Law on reunion is laid down in Brihaspati Smriti (Gaekwad's Oriental Series, Vol. LXXXV-pp 214-215), also vide Smrti-Chandrika III Vyavaharakanda Part II (1916) published by Government of highness the Maharaja of Mysore pp 702-703; English version J.R. Gharpura (1952) Part III pp 667-670). He who being once separated dwells again through affection with his father brought or paternal uncle is termed reunited. When two coparceners have again become reunited through affection, they shall mutually participate in each others properties. The view expressed by Devanna Bhatta, the author of Smriti-Chandrika on the text of Brihaspati is- Association not necessarily being by co-residence, the association is expres....
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....not dissipated away before the date of reunion. That would be the legal consequence of a genuine reunion is forcefully brought about by the text of Brihaspati, which provides "where coparceners have again reunited through affection, they shall mutually participate in each others properties". Mitakshara states that mixing up of divided properties is the effect of reunion. Therefore it follows, no coparcener, who is a party to a reunion and who admits reunion, shall be heard to contend that the property which he had got at an earlier partition and still with him has not become the property of the reconstituted HUF. But there can be no doubt that reunion, when disputed must be proved as any disputed question of fact and the circumstances that all the reuniting members have not brought back their properties to form the common-stock, may support the plea taken by any concerned party that there was no reunion. However, if reunion is admitted by all the parties to the reunion or it is proved, the share of the properties of reunited members got at an earlier partition and in their possession at the time of reunion becomes the properties of the joint family, notwithstanding the fact that so....
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....ambiguous pieces of conduct equally consistent with a reunion or ordinary joint enjoyment cannot sustain a plea of reunion. The legal position has been neatly summarized in Mayne's Hindu law, 11th Edn., thus at p. 569: "As the presumption is in favour of union until a partition is made out, so after a partition the presumption would be against a reunion. To establish it, it is necessary to show, not only that the parties already divided, lived or traded together, but that they did so with the intention of thereby altering their status and of forming a joint estate with all its usual incidents. It requires very cogent evidence to satisfy the burden of establishing that by agreement between them, the divided members of a joint Hindu family have succeeded in so altering their status as to bring themselves within all the rights and obligations that follow from the fresh formation of a joint undivided Hindu family." As we give our full assent to these observations, we need not pursue the matter with further citations except to consider two decisions strongly relied upon by the learned Attorney-General. Venkataramayya v. Tatayya [AIR 1943 Mad 538] is a decision of a....
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.... look into other materials on record. The ancestral house of the parties was at Helmet, Sedapalayam, Village Karumathampaty where three brothers alongwith their father A.V. Kandaswamy used to live. DW-2 in her statement has also stated that after she was married with Rangasamy, she lived at ancestral house at Sedapalayam. Further the three brothers in the year 1963 purchased the house site at Hemlet Somanur and constructed a new house where three brothers with their families shifted and lived at Somanur which become the new home of the Joint Family consisting of three brothers. The new house was constructed after purchasing the land in the year 1963 and the families of the three brothers started living at about in 1964, which clearly indicate that intention of all the brothers was to live jointly and continue as Joint Hindu Family. After partition dated 07.11.1960, three branches have purchased several immovable properties together, details of which are as follows:- i) Sale deed dated 09.06.1962 filed as exhibit A-42 in favour of (a) K.Rangasamy, (b) S.K.Kumarasamy and (c) S.K.Chinmasamy of the land to the extent of 5.6 acres in Karumathampaty village. ii) Sale de....
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.... his oral statement before the court has come up with the case that there was partition of the properties on 08.03.1981 and an agreement was entered between the three branches and compromise decree dated 06.08.1984 was passed to implement the agreement which was entered in the year 1981. In the written statement filed by D-1 to D-3, in paragraphs 16 and 17, following was pleaded by D-1:- "16....The arrangement to put an end to the co-ownership had been arrived at even in 1981 and separate ownership had been agreed upon. Hence there could be no representation or assurance as alleged in the plaint. 17....As the mode of division and allotment of the various items had been agreed upon previously and the amounts were paid to the 4th defendant the compromise was arrived at, an early date in a smooth manner and the decree was passed in terms thereof. The decree has also been registered. At the terms of the agreement were being incorporated in the compromise the parties were advised that it was not necessary to refer to the agreement dated 08.03.1981 in the compromise." 88. The case of partition of all properties by agreement dated 08.03.1981 standing in name of differ....
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....rly revealed that after the 1981, the above said agreement was brought into force and that it is proved clearly and that it had been indicated on the side of the plaintiff that it is incorrect to state that the property at Coonoor, Veerakeralam is in the custody of the 1st defendant and the properties at Somanur are lying with the 4th defendant and that the plaintiff had accepted in the evidence that he had not managed the property at Coonoor, and that from this it is clearly revealed that the above said agreement was brought into force." 90. Further in paragraph 159, the trial court again held that agreement of the year 1981 is genuine and it was brought into force and the argument of DW-1 is found to be acceptable. 91. The agreement dated 08.03.1981 was denied by the plaintiff. The plaintiff's case was that at no point of time, there was any agreement entered between parties in the year 1981 to divide the properties standing in the names of three branches. The agreement dated 08.03.1981 was not filed by D-1 in the evidence. The agreement was not filed nor exhibited by the defendant, D-1. 92. In the written statement which was filed by D-1 in O.S. No.37 of 1984, no pl....
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....t all the three branches were separate after 07.11.1960 is denied/belied by claim of partition on 08.03.1981. 98. Both the trial court and High Court have given much emphasis on the fact that three branches were filing separate IncomeTax Returns and Wealth Tax Returns after 1967. An individual member of joint Hindu Family can very well file his separate Returns both under the Income Tax Act as well as Wealth Tax Act and filing of such Returns was not conclusive of status of the family. The plaintiff's case throughout was that family continued to be joint after 07.11.1960 and D-1 who alone had filed the written statement and appeared in the witness box having come with the case of partition on 08.03.1981 which he claims to be implemented on 06.08.1984 by Compromise Decree, it is proved that family was joint at least till then, i.e., 08.03.1981 or 06.08.1984. Thus, in the year 1979, when the Tatabad residential property was acquired, the three branches were joint. 99. The Tatabad residential property was for the benefit of all the three branches which is further proved from the fact that the consideration for the said amount was not paid by DW-1 from his separate account or....