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Chowdamma (Dead) by L.R. v. Venkatappa (Dead) by LRs.

Civil Appeal · 2025 INSC 1038Decided 25 Aug 2025
C.A. No.-011330-011330-2011
Justice Sanjay Karol · Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra

Background

The dispute concerned ancestral property left by one Dasabovi, who allegedly had two wives: the plaintiffs' mother, Bheemakka, whom he later left after taking a second wife, Chowdamma (defendant No. 1), and their son (defendant No. 2). The plaintiffs (children from the first union) sued for a half share in the family lands, but the defendants denied that any marriage ever took place between Dasabovi and the plaintiffs' mother. The trial court dismissed the suit, but the Karnataka High Court reversed this and decreed partition in the plaintiffs' favour, prompting the defendants' appeal to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court examined the testimony of a village elder (P.W.2) who had personal knowledge of the family history and confirmed the marriage, finding this admissible and credible under Section 50 of the Evidence Act (opinion on relationship based on special knowledge). It applied the settled legal presumption that prolonged cohabitation as husband and wife gives rise to a strong presumption of valid marriage, rebuttable only by solid contrary evidence, which the defendants failed to produce. Critically, the Court noted that defendant No. 1 (Chowdamma), despite being physically present in court on multiple hearing dates, never entered the witness box to rebut the claim, and drew an adverse inference from this deliberate silence. Finding no infirmity in the High Court's reasoning, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the partition decree.

Lesson Learnt

Long, continuous cohabitation as husband and wife creates a strong legal presumption of valid marriage that is hard to displace without solid evidence, and a party who has direct personal knowledge of disputed facts but avoids testifying, despite being available to do so, risks an adverse inference being drawn against them.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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