In Brief
The case concerns a dispute over ancestral properties (Mollans and Bainguinim) in Goa between descendants of two branches of the Navelkar family. The appellants, as successors of Gones, claimed ownership of specified shares based on a 1919 settlement deed. The Supreme Court held that despite the settlement deed acknowledging Gones's rights, he obtained substantial gifts from his brother (more land than the settlement contemplated), silently acquiesced in inventory proceedings that allotted the properties to his brother's widow, and never enforced his claimed rights during his lifetime. The Court dismissed the appeals, finding that Gones's conduct and the passage of time, combined with equitable considerations in a special leave appeal, warranted non-interference with the lower courts' decisions dismissing the suit.
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