76-Year-Old Property Dispute in Pune Finally Resolved by Bombay High Court

In a landmark decision, the Bombay High Court has brought to a close a 76-year-old family property dispute in Pune. The court ruled on the division of a one-acre plot in Yerwada among the legal heirs of MMH Janmohammad, effectively ending this segment of the long-running litigation. The dispute, which dates back to the early days of independent India, has been a source of prolonged legal battles and complex claims.

The origins of the dispute trace back to February 8, 1950, just weeks after the Constitution of India came into force. Ibrahim Chotani and other heirs approached the High Court seeking the partition of family property and the determination of their respective shares. The litigation centered around two valuable land parcels left behind by Janmohammad, including a prime plot on Deccan College Road.

In March 1950, the court appointed a receiver to oversee the disputed properties, permitted their sale, and issued preliminary directions for division. The Deccan College Road property was subsequently acquired by the state government, and compensation was distributed among the heirs by 1979. This left a 16-acre tract in Yerwada as the core subject of continued litigation.

Over the years, the dispute grew increasingly complex. Heirs of a manager appointed by Janmohammad staked a claim over the land, asserting it had been transferred to them in lieu of a loan, citing a written note from June 1946. They sought rights over half the property. Separately, another claimant asserted ownership through adverse possession.

In 1952, the court receiver initiated proceedings in a Pune civil court to take possession of the land. A year later, in June 1953, the manager’s heirs agreed to scale down their claim, accepting a one-fourth share of the 16-acre plot and acknowledging the Chotani family’s ownership. A settlement was reached in 1955, but the land itself remained undivided for decades.

The High Court revisited the matter in 1984, directing that boundaries be demarcated. Over time, the dispute narrowed to two parcels in Yerwada, one measuring one acre and another spanning three acres.

In 2006, the Bishops Education Society entered the proceedings, seeking removal of the court-appointed receiver from the three-acre plot. Nearly two decades later, in 2024, the High Court allowed the plea and removed the receiver, prompting fresh appeals from both groups of heirs.

Bringing partial closure to the long-running litigation, Justice Farhan Dubash on March 11 ruled on the division of the one-acre plot, effectively ending that segment of the dispute. However, the appeal concerning the three-acre parcel remains pending. The court has clarified that the outcome of that case will be binding on all parties involved.

The proceedings have also drawn in private developers claiming rights through earlier agreements with the estate’s manager, as well as an individual asserting ownership through purchase, underscoring the layered complexity of one of the region’s longest-running property battles.