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On proving whether a property is a joint family property

 In BHAGWAT SHARAN vs PURUSHOTTAM & ORS., one of the issues before the Supreme Court was whether the disputed properties mentioned are the properties of the joint family both the sides or whether the same are the self acquired properties as per the averments made by the defendants?

The Supreme Court observed that the law is thus well settled that the burden lies upon the person who alleges the existence of the Hindu Undivided Family to prove the same. Reference in this behalf may be made to the judgments of this Court in Bhagwan Dayal vs. Reoti Devi. In this case this Court held that the general principle is that a Hindu family is presumed to be joint unless the contrary is proved. It was further held that where one of the coparceners separated himself from other members of the joint family there was no presumption that the rest of coparceners continued to constitute a joint family. However, it was also held that at the same time there is no presumption that because one member of the family has separated, the rest of the family is no longer a joint family.

As for any property being part of the joint family, the Privy Council in Appalaswami v. Suryanarayanamurti held that the Hindu law upon this aspect of the case is well settled. Proof of the existence of a joint family does not lead to the presumption that property held by any member of the family is joint, and the burden rests upon anyone asserting that any item of property was joint to establish the fact. But where it is established that the family possessed some joint property which from its nature and relative value may have formed the nucleus from which the property in question may have been acquired, the burden shifts to the party alleging self-acquisition to establish affirmatively that the property was acquired without the aid of the joint family property.

The aforesaid view was accepted by this Court in Shrinivas Krishnarao Kango v. Narayan Devji Kango and Ors. In D.S. Lakshmaiah and Ors. v. L. Balasubramanyam and Ors. this Court held as follows:

The legal principle, therefore, is that there is no presumption of a property being joint family property only on account of existence of a joint Hindu family. The one who asserts has to prove that the property is a joint family property. If, however, the person so asserting proves that there was nucleus with which the joint family property could be acquired, there would be presumption of the property being joint and the onus would shift on the person who claims it to be self-acquired property to prove that he purchased the property with his own funds and not out of joint family nucleus that was available.

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