76 years in court: How Bombay HC finally resolved a multi

The Bombay High Court recently cleared the way for the final partition of a land parcel in the Yerawada area in Pune, bringing to an end a 76-year-old civil suit that has been pending since 1950.

A single-judge bench of Justice Farhan P Dubash ordered the division of the last remaining portion of Final Plot No.

79 (Part), carved out of a 16-acre land bearing survey No.

208 in Yerawada, from the estate of the late businessman Mia Mohamed Haji Janmohamed Chotani.

The dispute arose between two sets of heirs of the deceased, as one Ebrahim Chotani and others filed a suit on February 8, 1950, against Osman Chotani and another heir, seeking partition and a declaration of shares in the land.

Soon after, the HC appointed a court receiver over the deceased’s properties and passed a preliminary decree for partition in March 1950.

The properties forming part of the estate of the deceased included a plot bearing survey No.

208 and another plot situated at Deccan College Road in the Yerawada area.

The Maharashtra government had acquired the latter, and compensation was paid to the heirs in 1979, while the other plot remained in dispute.

Over the years, most of the estate was either acquired by the government or sold and distributed, leaving a certain portion of land bearing survey No.

208 under the court receiver.

This was because rival claims surfaced from the family of Krishandas Gordhandas Madiwale, who was appointed by the late businessman to manage the land, and from one Bhau Gawde, an occupant asserting adverse possession.

Those disputes were eventually resolved through compromise, leading to a 1955 decree in a separate suit before aPunecourt.

The Madiwale family acknowledged that the Survey No.

208 “belonged to the deceased (Chotani)” and agreed to accept a one-fourth share “in full and final settlement of all their claims”, leaving three-fourths with the estate.

Multiple developers and purchasers, including Kalpataru Constructions (Pune), Classic Royal Realty Developers LLP, and individual buyer Abhishek L Khinvasara, were later added as parties to the matter under agreements with various family members.

Except Kalpataru, all the parties consented to the Commissioner’s proposed layout.

Kalpataru claimed development rights in the plot bearing Survey No.

208 through agreements with the Madiwale family around 1989.

The developer also objected to a 12-metre internal road shown in the plan for accessing the new sub-plots and sought a 6-metre road instead.

After calling for and examining an architect’s opinion, the court noted, “The 12-metre road requirement is in consonance with the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations for Maharashtra State (UDCPR)”.

In the order made available on March 11, Justice Dubash accepted a report of the ‘Commissioner for Taking Accounts’ that proposed partition of the Final Plot No.

79 (part) measuring 4,271.50 square metres (1.05 acre) and directed that it be divided as per a plan prepared by architect Kanhekar Prakash in August 2025.

Disposing of the 1950 suit, Justice Dubash then directed the commissioner concerned to proceed with the partition of Final Plot No.

79 (Part), get the land demarcated through the District Superintendent of Land Records or the City Survey Officer concerned and ensure updating of revenue records.

The HC noted disputes relating to the adjoining Final Plot No.

80 are the subject of pending appeals before a division bench of the HC.

In another instance, Justice Dubash, on February 5,disposed of one of the oldest suits of 1947, related to a property in NorthMumbai’s Dahisar, after the fourth generation of the original landowners reached a settlement.