This property case began weeks after India’s Constitution came into force, HC finally ends it in Feb after 76 years

A property dispute that began just weeks after the Constitution of India came into force has finally reached its conclusion after 76 years. On February 27, the Bombay High Court directed the partition of the remaining one acre of land in Yerawada among the heirs of landowner MMH Janmohamed. The case, which dates back to 1950, revolved around valuable plots once owned by the family, including one located on Deccan College Road. The order was passed by Justice Farhan Dubash, bringing closure to one of the longest-running property disputes in the court’s history, a TOI report stated.

Case that started in 1950

The legal fight began on February 8, 1950, when Ebrahim Chotani and other heirs approached the Bombay High Court seeking partition and their shares in properties left behind by Janmohamed. They filed the suit against another heir, Osman Chotani.

Soon after the case was filed, the court appointed a receiver in March 1950 to manage the disputed properties. The court also permitted the sale of the properties and directed a preliminary partition later that month.


One of the plots located on Deccan College Road was later acquired by the Maharashtra government. The compensation from that acquisition was distributed among the heirs in 1979.

However, the dispute did not fully end. What remained contested was a much larger 16-acre property in Yerawada.

New claims complicate the dispute

The case became more tangled when the heirs of a manager appointed by Janmohamed during his lifetime claimed rights over the land. They argued that the property had been transferred to them to settle certain debts.

According to court records, they also relied on a written note dated June 1946 from Osman Chotani to support their claim and demanded half of the property.

Adding another twist, a separate individual stepped in claiming ownership through adverse possession, further complicating the already long legal battle.

Compromise but no final partition

In 1952, the court-appointed receiver filed a separate suit in a civil court in Pune seeking possession of the land.

A year later, in June 1953, the manager’s heirs agreed to withdraw their larger claim. Instead, they accepted a one-fourth share of the 16-acre property and acknowledged that the land belonged to the Chotani family.

A compromise settlement followed in 1955. But despite the agreement, the land was never formally divided for decades, leaving the dispute unresolved for generations.

Final closure after decades

More than seven decades after the case first landed in court, Justice Farhan Dubash has now ordered the partition of the remaining one acre of land in Yerawada among the rightful heirs.

With that order, a courtroom battle that started in the early years of independent India has finally come to an end, proving that some legal fights can last longer than most lifetimes.