In Brief
This succession case involves a dispute over partition of ancestral coparcenary property governed by Mitakshara Hindu Law. The court had to determine whether Damodaran married Chiruthakutty and whether their son (the plaintiff) was legitimate and thus entitled to a share. The High Court had found no valid marriage, but the Supreme Court held that extensive documentary evidence and long cohabitation sufficiently presumed a valid marriage under Section 114 of the Indian Evidence Act. The defendants failed to rebut this presumption. The Court allowed the appeal, restored the trial court's decree for partition, and laid down directions requiring trial courts to automatically proceed with final decree proceedings after passing preliminary decrees, without awaiting separate applications.
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