Supreme Court restores dismissal of partition suit, holding plaintiffs failed to prove ancestral property was sold by karta without legal necessity.
The Supreme Court has set aside a Karnataka High Court decree in a long-running ancestral property dispute, holding that the plaintiffs failed to establish that the karta had alienated the property without legal necessity.

The Supreme Court has restored the dismissal of a partition suit after finding that the plaintiffs failed to prove that the karta of a Hindu joint family had sold ancestral property without legal necessity.

A bench of Justice Augustine George Masih and Justice Sandeep Mehta passed the ruling while considering an appeal filed by the purchaser of the disputed properties against a 2010 judgment of the Karnataka High Court.

The dispute arose from a partition suit instituted by the wife and two sons of Renukaiah. The trial court had dismissed the suit. However, the Karnataka High Court subsequently reversed that decision and decreed the suit in favour of the plaintiffs.

The purchaser challenged the High Court’s decision before the Supreme Court.

Plaintiffs Failed To Establish Lack Of Legal Necessity

At the centre of the dispute was the alienation of ancestral property by the karta, the manager of a Hindu joint family.

The Supreme Court examined whether the plaintiffs had successfully established that the sale transactions were not supported by legal necessity.

The Court found that the plaintiffs had failed to discharge the burden of proving that the karta had transferred the ancestral properties without a legally recognised necessity.

The finding assumes significance in disputes involving alienation of joint family property, where the validity of a transaction may depend upon whether the karta acted for a purpose recognised by law.

The Court’s reasoning therefore turned on the evidence produced by the plaintiffs and whether it was sufficient to displace the purchaser’s claim to the property.

Adverse Inference Against Plaintiffs

The Supreme Court also took note of the fact that Renukaiah’s wife, who was a plaintiff in the proceedings, did not enter the witness box.

The Court held that the circumstances justified drawing an adverse inference against the plaintiffs.

An adverse inference may arise when a party who is expected to possess relevant knowledge of the dispute fails to step into the witness box and offer evidence on matters within their knowledge.

In the present case, the Court considered the non-examination of Renukaiah’s wife while assessing whether the plaintiffs had adequately established their allegations concerning the sale of the ancestral properties.

Trial Court’s Dismissal Restored

After examining the evidence and the circumstances surrounding the transactions, the Supreme Court concluded that the plaintiffs had not succeeded in proving that the karta’s sale of the ancestral property was unauthorised or unsupported by legal necessity.

The Court consequently set aside the Karnataka High Court’s 2010 judgment which had decreed the partition suit.

The dismissal of the suit by the trial court was restored.

The judgment reiterates the importance of evidence in disputes concerning ancestral and joint family properties. A mere assertion that ancestral property was sold by the karta without legal necessity is not, by itself, sufficient to invalidate the transaction. The party challenging the alienation must establish the relevant factual and legal grounds through evidence.

The decision also highlights the consequences that may follow when a material party does not enter the witness box despite the nature of the dispute requiring evidence from that party.

The ruling is relevant to ongoing disputes concerning ancestral property, karta’s powers, legal necessity and partition rights and underscores the importance of properly establishing the factual foundation of a challenge to an alienation.

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