{"id":5040,"date":"2025-03-08T23:49:25","date_gmt":"2025-03-08T18:19:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/?p=5040"},"modified":"2025-04-20T13:25:48","modified_gmt":"2025-04-20T07:55:48","slug":"shreya-vidyarthi-v-ashok-vidyarthi-ors-2015-case-summary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/family-law\/shreya-vidyarthi-v-ashok-vidyarthi-ors-2015-case-summary\/","title":{"rendered":"Shreya Vidyarthi v.  Ashok Vidyarthi &#038; Ors 2015 (Case Summary)\u200b"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"5040\" class=\"elementor elementor-5040\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-917020f elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-column-slider-no wpr-equal-height-no\" data-id=\"917020f\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-5aa9190\" data-id=\"5aa9190\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d818b36 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"d818b36\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Shreya Vidyarthi v.  Ashok Vidyarthi &amp; Ors 2015 (Case Summary)<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e246dd3 elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"e246dd3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1312\" height=\"736\" src=\"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/a-photo-of-the-supreme-court-of-india-bu_A107p9z7ThmN2hAku1VnHQ_kuhjhvU2TfiOsHPohVjUwQ.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-1536x1536 size-1536x1536 wp-image-5042\" alt=\"Shreya Vidyarthi v. Ashok Vidyarthi &amp; Ors 2015\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/a-photo-of-the-supreme-court-of-india-bu_A107p9z7ThmN2hAku1VnHQ_kuhjhvU2TfiOsHPohVjUwQ.jpeg 1312w, https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/a-photo-of-the-supreme-court-of-india-bu_A107p9z7ThmN2hAku1VnHQ_kuhjhvU2TfiOsHPohVjUwQ-300x168.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/a-photo-of-the-supreme-court-of-india-bu_A107p9z7ThmN2hAku1VnHQ_kuhjhvU2TfiOsHPohVjUwQ-1024x574.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/a-photo-of-the-supreme-court-of-india-bu_A107p9z7ThmN2hAku1VnHQ_kuhjhvU2TfiOsHPohVjUwQ-150x84.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/a-photo-of-the-supreme-court-of-india-bu_A107p9z7ThmN2hAku1VnHQ_kuhjhvU2TfiOsHPohVjUwQ-768x431.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1312px) 100vw, 1312px\" title=\"\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0d9ee86 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0d9ee86\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This case,\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"background-color: var(--ast-global-color-5);\">Shreya Vidyarthi v.\u00a0 Ashok Vidyarthi &amp; Ors\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-style: inherit; color: var( --e-global-color-text ); font-family: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-family ), Sans-serif; background-color: var(--ast-global-color-5);\">decided by the Supreme Court of India, centered around a dispute over the ownership and nature of a property. The primary issue was whether the property was joint family property or self-acquired property. The court examined various claims regarding the origin of funds used to purchase the property, inheritance rights and the validity of earlier proceedings between the parties. The case also discussed the role of a widow in managing joint family property and whether she could act as the Karta (head) of a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF).<\/span><\/p><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_83 ez-toc-wrap-left counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #000000;color:#000000\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #000000;color:#000000\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/family-law\/shreya-vidyarthi-v-ashok-vidyarthi-ors-2015-case-summary\/#Facts_of_Shreya_Vidyarthi_v_Ashok_Vidyarthi\" >Facts of Shreya Vidyarthi v. Ashok Vidyarthi\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/family-law\/shreya-vidyarthi-v-ashok-vidyarthi-ors-2015-case-summary\/#Issues_framed\" >Issues framed<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/family-law\/shreya-vidyarthi-v-ashok-vidyarthi-ors-2015-case-summary\/#Subordinate_Court_Judgment\" >Subordinate Court Judgment\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/family-law\/shreya-vidyarthi-v-ashok-vidyarthi-ors-2015-case-summary\/#Judgment_of_Shreya_Vidyarthi_v_Ashok_Vidyarthi\" >Judgment of Shreya Vidyarthi v. Ashok Vidyarthi\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/family-law\/shreya-vidyarthi-v-ashok-vidyarthi-ors-2015-case-summary\/#Read_the_Judgment_Below\" >Read the Judgment Below]<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><b>Facts of Shreya Vidyarthi v. Ashok Vidyarthi\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/h2><ol><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 1937, Hari Shankar married Savitri Vidyarthi (first wife).<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 1942, he married Rama Vidyarthi (second wife), and from this marriage, two daughters Srilekha and Madhulekha were born.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Shreya Vidyarthi ( The Defendant\/Appellant) was the adopted daughter of Srilekha and the beneficiary of a will left by Madhulekha Vidyarthi.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After Hari Shankar Vidyarthi\u2019s death in 1955, Rama Vidyarthi managed the family affairs and handled financial matters, including the insurance money and maintenance funds from a trust.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The disputed property, House No. 7\/89, Tilak Nagar, Kanpur, was purchased on September 27, 1961, in the name of Rama Vidyarthi.\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ashok Vidyarthi (The Plaintiff\/ Respondent) claimed the property was bought using joint family funds, including insurance proceeds and advances from the Pratap Press Trust, Kanpur, where his father had been the managing trustee. The plaintiff argued that the property was joint family property and sought partition and separation of shares.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The defendants, led by Srilekha and Madhulekha, denied the existence of joint family funds and claimed the property was purchased using personal funds of their mother, Rama Vidyarthi.\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Multiple suits were filed by Savitri Vidyarthi and Ashok Vidyarthi, but they were dismissed due to procedural issues (non-payment of court fees).<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 1978, The plaintiff filed a fresh suit for partition and permanent injunction, leading to the present case.\u00a0<\/span><\/li><\/ol><h2><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><b>Issues framed<\/b><\/span><\/h2><ol><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether the suit property was purchased from joint family funds, making it part of the Hindu Undivided Family (HUF)?<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether a Hindu widow can act as the Karta or as a manager of an HUF after her husband\u2019s death?<\/span><\/li><\/ol><h2><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><b>Subordinate Court Judgment\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/h2><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Trial Court dismissed the suit, ruling that the plaintiff failed to prove that the property was purchased from joint family funds. The sale deed was in the name of Rama Vidyarthi, and there was no indication she purchased it as a representative of the HUF. At the time of Hari Shankar Vidyarthi\u2019s death in 1955, no joint family existed, meaning no HUF property claim was valid.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Allahabad High Court reversed the Trial Court\u2019s decision, ruling that a\u00a0 joint family existed, and the property was purchased using joint family funds, including insurance money and maintenance allowances. The widow (Rama Vidyarthi) acted as the manager of the family, managing finances on behalf of the minor heir (Ashok Vidyarthi). The plaintiff was entitled to \u00be of the property, while the defendant (Shreya Vidyarthi) was entitled to \u00bc share. <\/span><\/p><h2><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><b>Judgment of Shreya Vidyarthi v. Ashok Vidyarthi\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/h2><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court applied principles of inheritance under Hindu law, recognizing that all heirs have rights to the deceased\u2019s property, including insurance proceeds. The court also examined Order VII Rule 11 of the CPC, this rule deals with dismissal of suits for non-payment of court fees, which had affected earlier suits but did not bar the present suit under Order VII Rule 13 of the CPC.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The court ruled that the property was purchased using joint family funds, including the insurance money received after Hari Shankar Vidyarthi\u2019s death. Since the property was joint family property, all legal heirs, including the plaintiff (Ashok Vidyarthi), had a rightful share in it. The Court also addressed the role of a widow in an HUF under Hindu law. It ruled that while a widow cannot be a Karta (as she is not a coparcener), she can act as a Manager if she is handling the affairs of the family on behalf of a minor coparcener. Additionally, the Court also ruled that since the previous dismissals were on technical grounds and not on merits, the plaintiff had the right to file a fresh suit for partition.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the High Court\u2019s ruling. The Court confirmed the property as HUF property and ordered partition \u00be share to the plaintiff (Ashok Vidyarthi) and \u00bc share to the defendant (Shreya Vidyarthi).<\/span><\/p><h2><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong>Read the Judgment Below]<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ad13ebd elementor-widget elementor-widget-pdfjs-viewer\" data-id=\"ad13ebd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"pdfjs-viewer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<iframe width=\"\" height=\"700\" src=\"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-content\/plugins\/pdfjs-viewer-for-elementor\/\/assets\/js\/pdfjs\/web\/viewer.html?file=https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/Shreya-Vidyarthi-v.-Ashok-Vidyarthi-Ors-2015-1.pdf\"><\/iframe>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This case, decided by the Supreme Court of India, centered around a dispute over the ownership and nature of a property. The primary issue was whether the property was joint family property or self-acquired property. The court examined various claims regarding the origin of funds used to purchase the property, <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5042,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[121,114,108,123,124,12],"class_list":["post-5040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family-law","tag-family-law-ii","tag-hindu-joint-family","tag-hindu-succession-act-1956","tag-karta","tag-member","tag-supreme-court"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5040"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5040\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5725,"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5040\/revisions\/5725"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}