Supreme Court resolves land disputes among children of Karnataka educationist M S Ramaiah

A bench of Justices gave its imprimatur to the memorandum of family settlement of November 25, 2005 and August 28, 2006 as was worked out between the parties.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has resolved a dispute among children of Karnataka's educationist and land developer late M S Ramaiah in respect of 666 acres of land near Bengaluru airport.

A bench of Justices Rajesh Bindal and Manmohan gave its imprimatur to the memorandum of family settlement of November 25, 2005 and August 28, 2006 as was worked out between the parties.

The court also found that the appellant, M R Raghuram and the respondents had entered into a partition deed signed between the parties on April 1, 1970 and a similar deed of family settlement-cum-arrangement on January 25, 2017 and had also filed a compromise application under Order XXIII Rule 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

The court held that the parties would be bound by the statements and undertakings given in the deed of family settlement-cum-arrangement and compromise application.

The bench disposed of the appeal, along with a clarification that the appellant will neither raise any objection nor file any proceeding or interfere with the rights and obligations of the parties.

Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi, Devadatt Kamat, Nikhil Goel and advocate Nishanth Patil for the respondents M R Jayaram and others submitted, they will not challenge or interfere with the ownership of the land as assigned to the appellant under the two settlements/partition deeds.

Senior advocates C Aryama Sundaram, for the appellant and Huzefa Ahmadi, for some of respondents stated that they have no objection if the 2010 suit pertaining to partition of remaining land of father i.e. 104 acres and 04 guntas was disposed of in accordance with the compromise arrived at between the parties as recorded in the compromise application under Order XXIII Rule 3 CPC.   

The court decreed the suit in terms of the compromise. The counsel for the remaining respondents submitted that they would have no objection if the underlying suit was remanded to the trial court for adjudication in accordance with law. The bench allowed the plea, leaving all the rights and contentions of the appellant and respondents open for adjudication for the trial court.

Late Ramaiah, the father of the parties, married twice. Ten children were born from these two wedlocks. 

Ramaiah owned 666 acres of land in Jodi Akkalenahalli Mallenahalli Village, Kasaba Hobli, Devanhalli Taluk. 

Out of the said land, 531 acres and 10 guntas of land was partitioned by the father amongst his ten children during his lifetime on April 1, 1970. 

Subsequently, another parcel of 30 acres and 26 guntas of land was partitioned amongst the ten siblings by way of a second memorandum of confirmation of oral family settlement on July 25, 1998 after the death of the father on December 25, 1997.  

Further in the year 1997, the appellant had purchased additional 8 acres land in the immediate neighbourhood of 666 acres of land.

In a bid to ensure that the parties own contiguous and consolidated portions of land, nine out of the ten siblings (i.e. excluding the appellant) swapped, rearranged and realigned their scattered portions of land, in the years 2005 and 2006. Later civil suits were filed by the appellant