LexStreak
Read free →
Madras High Court· 16 September 2026

Is property purchased with the proceeds of sale of ancestral property ancestral property?

Natarajan v. Lakshmi
SA.1843/2004 · 2026:MHC:3807 · S.A. No.1843 & 1844 of 2004
Coram: Justice R.Sakthivel
🔖 Save this judgment🔔 Follow Order XXIII Rule 3A Code of Civi…📬 Get today's judgments
View the original judgment PDFFree to read. To download it — or the LexStreak typeset copy with the headnote and Points of Law — create an account; downloads are part of the Pro plan.
Answer

Property purchased with the proceeds of sale of ancestral property is ancestral property.

Yes. Property purchased with the proceeds of sale of ancestral property is ancestral property. The recitals of the sale deed of the ancestral properties, the temporal proximity between that sale and the purchase of the suit properties, and the fact that the minor son was made a party to the earlier sale, taken together, show that the suit properties were purchased using those sale proceeds, so that they take up the character of ancestral properties.

Headnote

Property — Ancestral property — Purchase from sale proceeds of ancestral property — Suit for bare injunction — Denial of title — Decree obtained by fraud — Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 — Order XXIII Rule 3A — Indian Evidence Act, 1872 — s.44 — Property — Character of the property purchased — Held: Property purchased with the proceeds of sale of ancestral property is ancestral property. (¶22) Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 — Suit for bare injunction — Denial of title — Held further: A suit for bare injunction is maintainable despite denial of title where the question of title is simple and not complicated, and only a complicated question of title requires the parties to be relegated to a suit for declaration. (¶25) Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 — Order XXIII Rule 3A — Memo not signed by both parties — Held further: Order XXIII Rule 3A of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 does not bar a suit where the memo is not signed by both parties. (¶33) Evidence — Decree obtained by fraud — Indian Evidence Act, 1872, s.44 — Held further: A decree obtained by fraud can be challenged at any time, even in collateral proceedings, fraud vitiating all solemn acts. (¶34) Second appeals allowed in part; suit remanded. (¶35)

Headnote

You've used your free headnotes this month

The answer above and the Court's own paragraphs stay free. LexStreak's full headnote on this judgment needs an account — a free one opens it again.

Create my free account
In the Court's own words
Paragraph 22Starting with the character of suit properties, plaintiff / P.W.1 in his evidence has accepted that Kondathu Gounder along for himself and for his then minor son - Karuppusamy, sold his ancestral properties situate in Merkupathi Village in favour of the plaintiff's father - Avanashiyappa Gounder vide Ex-B.1 - Sale Deed dated September 04, 1978. The recitals contained in Ex-B.1 - Sale Deed also reads that the sale thereunder was made by Kondathu Gounder for purchasing some other properties [ “ntW g{kp th';Fk; epkpj;jk;....”]. In less than a year thereafter, Kondathu Gounder purchased the suit properties vide Ex-A.1 - Sale Deed dated February 1, 1979. The recitals contained in Ex-B.1, the temporal proximity between the sale of ancestral properties under Ex-B.1 and the purchase of suit properties under Ex-A.1 and the fact that Kondathu Gounder's son was made a party to Ex-B.1, taken together would show that the suit properties were purchased using the sale proceeds from sale of ancestral properties. Hence, the suit properties also take up the character of ancestral properties. The First Appellate Court rightly found so.
Acts & Sections
Order XXIII Rule 3A Code of Civil Procedure, 1908s.100 Code of Civil Procedure, 1908s.44 Indian Evidence Act, 1872

One judgment a day. That's the whole habit.

Read the full text of Natarajan v. Lakshmi — and get the Madras High Court's output as a five-minute daily read, with plain-language headnotes and the questions each judgment settles.

Create my free account

Free forever plan · 30 seconds · data stays in India

Open the full judgment →

Also decided in this judgment
Is a suit for bare injunction maintainable despite denial of title where the question of title is simple and not complicated?Does Order XXIII Rule 3A of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 bar a suit where the memo is not signed by both parties?Can a decree obtained by fraud be challenged at any time, even in collateral proceedings?
Plain-language answer prepared by the LexStreak Editorial Desk — verify against the judgment. Source: Madras High Court. Corrections