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Meenakshi Juneja & Anr. v. State of NCT of Delhi & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2018 INSC 1098Decided 26 Nov 2018
Civil Appeal No. 11349 of 2018
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Hemant Gupta

Background

The case arose from a decades-long family property dispute among the legal heirs of two brothers over a multi-storey ancestral property in Delhi, with related civil suits and an FIR-adjacent dispute pending for close to 30 years. The Supreme Court had earlier directed the parties to appear and, with their consent, appointed a mediator who spent around 150 hours mediating between the various branches of the family.

Decision Breakdown

The parties reached a comprehensive settlement covering ownership of each floor of the property among the different branches of the family, sale of the third floor with roof rights to a buyer for Rs. 4 crore, a construction/collaboration arrangement to redevelop the building, a schedule for depositing and disbursing sale proceeds among named family members, and mutual undertakings to withdraw all pending civil and criminal proceedings against each other and not file fresh ones over the property. The Supreme Court disposed of the appeals strictly in terms of this settlement, directed the parties to abide by its terms, and recorded appreciation for the mediator's efforts while directing a modest honorarium be paid to her despite her having declined any fee.

Lesson Learnt

Long-running family property disputes can be conclusively resolved through court-supervised mediation, with the Supreme Court giving binding effect to a negotiated settlement rather than adjudicating the underlying dispute on merits.

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

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