The Supreme Court has upheld a 1994 verdict granting full land rights to a farmer’s second wife in Telangana. The judgment ends a decades-long inheritance battle over ancestral property.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India has finally ended a 40-year-long property dispute involving ancestral land in Dasnapur and Mavala villages, located in the Asifabad district of Telangana (formerly Andhra Pradesh).
The top court has upheld a 1994 district court verdict that had given full ownership of the land to a farmer’s second wife, overturning a later 2014 judgment by the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
The dispute was over four acres and 16 guntas of ancestral land. Initially, in 1994, a district court had ruled in favour of the second wife, stating that she had the right to the entire property based on a registered will.
However, this ruling was reversed by the High Court in 2014, which limited her share to only one-fourth of the land. Following this, the second wife and her family approached the Supreme Court to challenge the High Court’s decision.
The Supreme Court closely examined the will executed by the farmer in 1974. The apex court found the will to be valid and legal.
It observed that the document had the real signature of the man, was made when he was mentally sound, and fairly distributed the land. As per the will, the son from the first marriage received a larger portion of the land compared to the second wife.
The Court clearly said:
“This is not a fabricated will. It bears the admitted signatures, was executed in a sound state of mind, and the distribution was fair.”
It also added that the second wife had been in peaceful possession of the land for many years, and there were oral family settlements that further supported the truthfulness of the will. This long possession gave strength to her legal claim.
The Court further observed:
“If the will were forged, the owner would not have granted a lion’s share to the son.”
The Supreme Court was highly critical of the High Court’s interference in the matter. It stated that the High Court made a serious legal error by reversing the district court’s verdict, which was otherwise well-reasoned and based on sound legal principles.
The top court reinstated the original 1994 ruling, fully restoring the second wife’s ownership over the entire disputed property.
The bench stated:
“The trial court’s decision, based on a proper appreciation of the evidence and prevailing legal principles, is unassailable in both fact and law.”
This legal conflict started when the original landowner, who had inherited the land from his father, made a will after the death of his first wife. In that will, he divided the property among his two children from the first marriage and his second wife.
After his death, the second wife had the land officially registered in her name and even sold part of it.
However, the son from the first marriage opposed the will and challenged the land sale in court. This led to a legal fight that continued for decades.
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Although the second wife passed away in 2015 during the litigation, the legal battle was carried forward by the people who bought the land from her.
Finally, the Supreme Court ended the dispute, recognising the second wife’s full rights and stating that the trial court’s verdict was completely fair and legal.
Case Title:
Metpalli Lasum Bai (since deceased) and Others v. Metapalli Muthaih & Ors.
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