The heirs of a testator challenged a will wherein one of the sons, who had left home 16 years ago and returned a year prior to the testator’s death, was given a large share of the property. A lower court ruled that the will was invalid. The son then appealed to the Karnataka High Court. He argued that the testator was in sound mind while making the will. The advocate who drafted the will also testified to this fact. The court upheld the son’s plea after going through past judgements under the Indian Succession Act. The court ruled that a will made under persuasion or flattery but in sound mind cannot be rendered invalid (Patrick Rebello and others vs Victor Rebello and others).
Some contractors filed a suit for recovery of money for work done from a municipal committee. A lower court ordered the municipality to pay the contractors their dues. The municipality appealed to the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The appellants held that the Haryana Municipal Act provided that a contract exceeding Rs 500 was required to be made in writing and signed by two municipality members. Rejecting the appeal, the court ruled that the municipality’s records showed that the work was carried out at the oral request of a municipal councillor and the deputy commissioner had subsequently given his approval. The municipality had also enjoyed the benefits of the work and thus the respondents were entitled to payment (Municipal Committee Pundri vs Bajrang Rao Nagrath and another).
A girl and her father filed a suit for breach of promise of marriage after her fiancé refused to marry the girl. The appellants also claimed damages against expenditure on the betrothal ceremony. A district court rejected the appeal on the grounds that the girl was a minor at the time of her betrothal. The father then appealed to the Bombay High Court. The court held that the girl would have attained adulthood on the date of the marriage. The boy also stated that the girl was brought to his house after she became a major. This amounted to ratification of the marriage contract. The court ordered the respondent to pay Rs 27,000 as damages to the girl’s father (Tulshiram Maroti Kohad vs Roopchand Laxman Ninawe and another).
SOLON
