Babubhai Girdharlal vs Ujamlal Hargovandas on 21 January, 1937
From the figures which the appellant gave in evidence, which again were not disputed, it is clear that his family expenses far exceeded the income derived from the joint property which he acquired under exhibit A. Between 1918 and 1934 the appellant acquired various properties at a total expenditure of some Rs. 55,000 and it was conceded in the judgment of the High Court that the defendant was a man of enterprise and that it was largely due to his energy and labour that a large fortune had been acquired. The Hindu law upon this aspect of the case is well settled. Proof of the.existence of a joint family does not lead to the presumption that property held by any member of the family is joint, and the burden rests upon anyone asserting that any item of property is joint to establish the fact. But where it is established that the family possessed some joint property which from its nature and relative value may have formed the nucleus from which the property in question may have been acquired, the burden shifts to the party alleging self-acquisition to establish affirmatively that the property was acquired without the aid of the joint family property : see Babubhai Girdharlal v. Ujamlal Hargovandas [1937] Bom. 708 : S.C. 39 Bom.