Land Partition Dispute: Supreme Court Upholds Trial Court's Decision

The case of Subhash Chandra Sen (D) Thr. LRs. and Ors. vs. Nabin Sain (D) Thr. LRs. revolves around a property partition dispute where the Supreme Court of India had to determine the validity of a High Court order that set aside a trial court’s amendment to its decree.

The legal dispute originated when Nabin Sain filed a suit seeking partition of a 3/5th share in a property against Subhash Chandra Sen and others. The trial court, on August 6, 2001, ruled in favor of Nabin Sain, granting him his claimed share. The judgment clearly demarcated the shares of both parties and specified arrangements regarding common passages, sewage systems, and water supply.

Background of the Case

Following the trial court’s decision, the defendants filed an application to amend the decree, seeking to include a sketch map that was originally submitted but not marked as part of the judgment. The trial court allowed this amendment on September 6, 2006. However, the plaintiff challenged this decision before the High Court of Calcutta, which subsequently set aside the amendment on February 5, 2008. The defendants then appealed to the Supreme Court.

Arguments by the Parties

Petitioner’s Arguments

The appellants, representing the defendants, argued that:

The decree was passed by consent, and the partition was to be carried out based on the sketch map submitted in court.
The map was not exhibited at the time of the judgment due to oversight, leading to execution difficulties.
The trial court’s order to amend the decree merely rectified a clerical omission, ensuring proper execution of the partition.
The High Court’s decision was based on incorrect assumptions and should be reversed.

Respondent’s Arguments

The respondents, representing the plaintiff, contended that:

Multiple maps had been submitted at different stages of the proceedings, creating ambiguity.
The High Court rightly directed both parties to file a joint petition specifying their intentions and submitting a new sketch map prepared by a competent authority.
The trial court’s order allowing the amendment to the decree was incorrect and needed to be set aside.

Supreme Court’s Analysis

The Supreme Court carefully examined the submissions and observed that:

There was no dispute regarding the share division—3/5th to the plaintiff and 2/5th to the defendants.
The sketch map in question was submitted by the plaintiff and clearly delineated the respective shares.
The plaintiff himself had applied for partition based on this sketch map.
Excluding the sketch map from the decree created execution difficulties, which the trial court rightly addressed.
The High Court was not justified in setting aside the trial court’s amendment order.

Key Observations by the Court

The Supreme Court emphasized:

“No party should be allowed to suffer for the error of the court. At the time of passing the judgment and decree, the trial court should have made the said map a part of the decree so that the partition could have been effected as per the said sketch.”

Final Judgment

The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, restoring the trial court’s order and setting aside the High Court’s ruling. The judgment concluded:

“Hence, this appeal is allowed. The order of the High Court impugned herein is set aside and the order of the trial court dated 06.09.2006 is restored. There will be no order as to costs.”

Conclusion

This case highlights the significance of ensuring that all necessary documents, including maps, are properly exhibited during the trial phase to prevent execution hurdles later. The Supreme Court’s decision underscores that courts should correct procedural omissions to uphold justice and prevent unnecessary hardship to parties.

Petitioner Name: Subhash Chandra Sen (D) Thr. LRs. and Ors..
Respondent Name: Nabin Sain (D) Thr. LRs..
Judgment By: Justice N.V. Ramana, Justice S. Abdul Nazeer.
Place Of Incident: Calcutta.
Judgment Date: 19-04-2018.

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