Om Prakash Sharma @ O.P. Joshi v. Rajendra Prasad Shewda & Ors.
Background
A house-and-land property in Purulia, West Bengal, was bought with the money of Jagannath Joshi but recorded in the name of his wife, Moni Debi. After Moni Debi's death, the property passed to her daughter Gomati Debi and then, according to the other side, to Gomati's adopted son. The plaintiff, the widow of Sitaram Joshi, claimed that Sitaram had been adopted by Jagannath and Moni Debi, so the property should come to her.
Decision Breakdown
The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's finding that the property was really owned by Moni Debi, even though Jagannath paid for it. The Court applied the established test for benami (in-another's-name) purchases: the source of the money is the most important factor, but the courts also look at management of the property, entries in government records, motive and later conduct. On adoption, the Court repeated that a claim resting on oral evidence without a registered document must be proved with great caution. The plaintiff's witness was found unreliable, and the letter relied on was inconclusive. Since the adoption was not proved, the plaintiff had no claim to the property, and the appeals were dismissed with no order as to costs.
Lesson Learnt
Who paid the money is not the only question when property is bought in someone else's name; courts also look at who controlled, managed and recorded the property. A person who claims to have been adopted must prove it with clear and reliable evidence, because an adoption can change who inherits.