Quick Summary: A family land dispute in Pune involving the Kurhade family has taken a new turn. The Bombay High Court has canceled a previous order that sent the case back for a new trial. Instead, the case will be reconsidered based on the evidence already collected.
The case is about Shivaji Gopal Kurhade and his relatives fighting over the division of family land in Pune. Shivaji, who is 72 years old, is challenging an earlier court decision about how the family property should be divided.
On January 2, 2020, the Trial Court decided that Shivaji should get a 1/6 share of the family properties listed in Schedules 'A to C'. However, it asked for a detailed process to divide the agricultural lands in Schedule 'C'.
Shivaji was not happy with the decision and appealed. The other family members, including Ramchandra Gopal Kurhade and others, argued that the properties were not passed down from ancestors and claimed there was a verbal agreement to divide the land in 1980. They also said the case was too old to be considered since the dispute started many years ago.
On February 1, 2024, the Appellate Court sent the case back for a new trial, saying it needed to look at additional issues like whether the case was too old to be considered. This decision was because the Trial Court hadn’t specifically looked at the time limit for bringing up the case.
"The Appellate Court has not undertaken any exercise to examine the correctness of the conclusions reached by the Trial Court." - Judge Kamal Khata
Judge Kamal Khata of the Bombay High Court found that the Appellate Court's decision to send the whole case back was not needed. The High Court noted that the Trial Court had already looked at the evidence and addressed the main issues.
The High Court has sent the case back to the Appellate Court, telling it to reconsider the appeal based on the evidence already collected. The Appellate Court can now decide on the time limit issue without starting a new trial.
This case shows how complicated family disputes can be and the importance of dealing with legal details without wasting time. The Bombay High Court's decision aims to make the process faster and ensure a fair outcome based on the evidence already presented.
