In Brief
Two branches of a farming family disputed ownership of eight acres of agricultural land in Maharashtra that fell within a municipal boundary. The issue turned on whether land acquired by Nivrutti under tenant-purchase laws was family property benefiting his brother Laxman's heirs, or belonged solely to Nivrutti. Since Laxman (a government clerk) was merely a witness—not a signatory—to the original lease, and since a final certificate of purchase had been issued in Nivrutti's name alone, the Supreme Court held the heirs' attempt to revisit the issue as an impermissible collateral attack after their direct legal remedies had failed years earlier. The appeal was dismissed."
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