Summary: A legal heir's fight for land in Wardha, Maharashtra, gets tangled in court decisions. The Supreme Court rules in favor of carrying out an old decision, declaring earlier appeal judgments invalid.
This case started when Vikram Bhalchandra Ghongade, the person who brought the case to court, tried to carry out a court decision from 2006. His predecessor, Mr. Arjunrao Thakre, was given farmland in Takarkheda, Wardha, as a former soldier. After his death, the land was given to others, leading to a legal fight.
On August 14, 2006, the trial court said the re-allotment was illegal and ruled in favor of Mr. Thakre's family. They were recognized as the rightful owners of the land.
Defendants 4 and 5 challenged the trial court's decision. However, both defendants died—Defendant 4 on October 27, 2006, and Defendant 5 on September 20, 2010—before the appeal was heard.
Despite the deaths, the first appeal court changed the trial court's decision on October 20, 2010. The appeal was heard without including the family of the deceased defendants, making the judgment legally questionable.
Vikram tried to carry out the original 2006 decision, but the court handling the execution dismissed his application, saying the appeal had not ended. Vikram challenged this in the High Court, which agreed with the executing court's decision on March 11, 2024.
On November 6, 2025, the Supreme Court, with Justices Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Atul S. Chandurkar, ruled that the appeal judgment was invalid since it favored people who had passed away. The trial court's original decision was reinstated for execution.
"The decision passed by the first appeal court was invalid as it was made in favor of people who had died."
The Supreme Court's decision means that Vikram can now carry out the original court decision and reclaim the land his predecessor was awarded.
