Bombay High Court
Smt Shantabhai Narayuan Warkhade vs Bhaiyalal Mara Uikey And Another on 9 January, 2018
Author: A. S. Chandurkar
Bench: A. S. Chandurkar
243-J-SA-630-04 1/7
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR.
SECOND APPEAL NO.630 OF 2004
Shantabai w/o Narayan Warkhade
Aged 60 years, Occupation : Cultivator,
R/o Katangikala, Gondia ... Appellant.
-vs-
1. Bhaiyalal s/o Mara Uikey
Aged about 59 years
(Dead) Thr. Legal Heir
1(A) Bhaulal s/o Bhaiyalal Uike,
Aged major, Occ : Agriculturist,
R/o Karanja, Tah. And Dist. Gondia.
2. Surajlal s/o Mara Uikey,
aged about 57 years,
Both cultivators and R/o village
Karanja, Tah. and Dist. Gondia. ... Respondents.
Shri S. K. Pardhy, Advocate for appellant.
Shri D. V. Mahajan, Advocate for respondent.
CORAM : A. S. CHANDURKAR, J.
DATE : January 09, 2018.
Oral Judgment :
The original plaintiff has filed the present Second Appeal as the suit for partition and separate possession filed by her has been dismissed and the said decree has been confirmed by the appellate Court.
As per the plaint averments one Mara Uikey was the common ::: Uploaded on - 16/01/2018 ::: Downloaded on - 17/01/2018 00:58:19 ::: 243-J-SA-630-04 2/7 ancestor. He expired in the year 1971. He was survived by his widow, two sons and a daughter Rayabai. The plaintiff is a grand-daughter of Mara Uikey and the daughter of Rayabai. The plaintiff's mother expired in the year 1981 and the plaintiff being the only heir filed aforesaid suit for partition and separate possession. The brothers of Rayabai were arrayed as defendants. The plaintiff claimed entitlement on the ground that the parties were governed by Hindu law. In the written statement a stand was taken that the parties were "Gond" and hence being members of Scheduled Tribe, Hindu law was not applicable to them. It was further pleaded that in the Gond community daughters were not entitled to the share in the estate and hence the plaintiff was not entitled to claim partition.
2. After the parties led evidence, the trial Court by its judgment dated 25/09/2000 held that the parties being "Gond" Scheduled Tribe, they were not governed by provisions of Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (for short, the said Act). It further held that even as per customary law, the plaintiff was not entitled for any share in the property. The suit was accordingly dismissed. The first Appellate Court confirmed this judgment and dismissed the appeal.
3. The following substantial question of law was framed while admitting the Second Appeal :
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" Whether the appellate Court was justified in rejecting the claim of the appellant/plaintiff when the appellate Court arrived at a conclusion that the plaintiff was a Hindu, merely by holding that the plaintiff had failed to prove instances in the Gond community of allotting any property to the sisters and daughters ?
4. Shri S. K. Pardhy, learned counsel for the appellant/plaintiff submitted that the first appellate Court in paragraph 11 of its judgment had held that the parties to the dispute were Hindus and therefore as per provisions of the said Act, the suit for partition ought to have been decreed. It was submitted that the bar as laid down by provisions of Section 2(2) of the said Act would not come into operation. The evidence on record was sufficient to come to the conclusion that the parties were not following the customs relating to "Gond" community. Relying upon judgment of the Honourable Supreme Court in Labishwar Manjhi vs. Pran Manjhi and ors. (2000) 8 SCC 587 as well as the judgment in Laxmi Narayan Tudu alias Lakshmi Narayan Manjhi and anr. AIR 2004 Jharkhand 121, it was submitted that the parties being Hinduised they were governed by the provisions of the said Act. It was therefore submitted that the plaintiff was entitled for a share in the property.
5. Shri D. V. Mahajan, learned counsel for the respondent-defendant supported the impugned judgment. According to him the pleadings in the ::: Uploaded on - 16/01/2018 ::: Downloaded on - 17/01/2018 00:58:19 ::: 243-J-SA-630-04 4/7 plaint were not sufficient to contend that the parties were not governed by customary law. On the contrary the evidence on record indicated that those customs were still being followed. There was no evidence on record to come to the conclusion that after giving up the practices of Gond community, the parties were following Hindu customs. He referred to the provisions of Section 48 of the Evidence Act and submitted that the plaintiff or her witnesses did not lead any sufficient evidence on the basis of which any relief could be granted to her. There was also no evidence to come to the conclusion that as per customary law a daughter was entitled to ½ share in the suit property. In support of his submissions, learned counsel placed reliance on the decision in Madhu Kishwar and ors. v. State of Bihar and ors. AIR 1996 SC 1864 and Second Appeal No.143/2004 (Ganeshsingh Uttamsingh Thakur and ors. vs. Premsingh Narayansingh Thakur and ors.) decided on 05/09/2017.
6. I have heard the learned counsel for the parties at length and I have perused the records of the case. In the plaint it has been pleaded in paragraph 2 that the parties to the suit were governed by Hindu Law. In the written statement this has been denied and it has been asserted that the plaintiff as well as the defendants were Gond by caste and Hindu Law was not applicable to them. The plaintiff examined herself at Exhibit-39. She stated that the parties belonged to Gond Scheduled Tribe and in their ::: Uploaded on - 16/01/2018 ::: Downloaded on - 17/01/2018 00:58:19 ::: 243-J-SA-630-04 5/7 community the son and daughter were entitled to equal share in the ancestral property. In her cross-examination she stated that the parties were governed by the provisions of the said Act. The plaintiff examined another witness Ramchandra Madavi at Exhibit-43. He deposed that as per customary practice, on the death of the father, the son and daughter were entitled to equal share in the property. In his cross-examination he admitted that he was not present at any partition in his community. He had not attended any marriage in the community. He was not aware about the practices in his community. Another witness examined was Ramsingh Madavi at Exhibit-46.
The defendant No.1 was examined at Exhibit-49. In his cross- examination he stated that the marriage ceremonies as well as last rites in their community were performed as per old practices. Another witness Jaggulal at Exhibit-51 also stated that old practices were being followed in the community.
7. As per provisions of Section 2(2) of the said Act, the provisions of the said Act do not apply to members of any Scheduled Tribe which has been notified under Article 366 of the Constitution of India. It is not in dispute that Gond community has been recognized as a Scheduled Tribe. The exception to the aforesaid provision has been carved out and recognized in the judgment in Labishwar Manjhi (supra). It was held therein that if the ::: Uploaded on - 16/01/2018 ::: Downloaded on - 17/01/2018 00:58:19 ::: 243-J-SA-630-04 6/7 parties originally belong to a Scheduled Tribe but they are Hinduised and follow Hindu traditions then the provisions of the said Act would apply to them. In said case a categorical finding of fact had been recorded that the parties therein were following customs of Hindus and not the customs of the Santhal tribe. In Laxmi Narayan Tudu (supra) a similar finding of fact was recorded by the trial Court and the appellate Court that the parties had been sufficiently Hinduised and therefore were governed by Hindu Law in the matter of inheritance and succession.
8. The question whether parties were Hinduised despite belonging to a Scheduled Tribe is a question of fact. Same has to be determined on the basis of evidence led in that regard. Perusal of the entire evidence on record indicates that the same is not sufficient to come to the conclusion that the parties had given up customs and traditions of Gond community and were thereafter following Hindu traditions and customs. Mere contention that provisions of the said Act would be applicable as the parties were Hinduised would not be sufficient. The observations of the first appellate Court in paragraph 11 of the judgment where it has been stated "However, it is nobody's case that they are not Hindus" cannot take the case of the plaintiff any further. Whether the parties are Hinduised is a question to be determined on the basis of evidence on record. The evidence on record is found to be insufficient to come to that conclusion. When the defendants ::: Uploaded on - 16/01/2018 ::: Downloaded on - 17/01/2018 00:58:19 ::: 243-J-SA-630-04 7/7 had come up with a specific defence that the parties belonged to Gond community and provisions of the said Act were not applicable, it was incumbent upon the plaintiff to have led sufficient evidence that would have enabled the fact finding Courts to record a finding that the parties were sufficiently Hinduised. Same is not the case here. Hence no fault can be found with the judgment of the Appellate Court when it affirmed the dismissal of the civil suit.
9. The substantial question of law is answered by holding that the Appellate court was justified in rejecting the claim of the plaintiff for partition and separate possession especially when the plaintiff had failed to prove instances in the Gond community of allotting property to daughters. As a result of this answer, the Second Appeal stands dismissed with no order as to costs.
JUDGE Asmita ::: Uploaded on - 16/01/2018 ::: Downloaded on - 17/01/2018 00:58:19 :::