MYSURU: One of the longest civil disputes in the state involving relatives of Kannada poets N S Lakshminarayana Bhat and Gopalakrishna Adiga was settled in the Lok Adalat. The 53-year-old civil case was filed by four sisters against their five brothers claiming a share in the property.
Principal District and Sessions Judge ML Raghunath during the Lok Adalat organised by the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) said that the brothers got an equal share in the family property, while the four sisters did not receive any. In the meantime, the brothers sold their share to others.
However, the daughters in 1969 filed a case claiming Rs 64 lakh that was in their mother’s name. The brothers too approached the court demanding an equal share among the nine children from the mother’s amount. The case also caught the attention of Supreme Court Justice UU Lalit, who is the executive chairman of National Legal Services Authority (NLSA).
Justice Lalit through video-conferencing heard the plea of one of the sisters who was in an ICU with an oxygen mask. “The brothers who were demanding an equal share in their mother’s money were asked to share the family properties with their sisters. Later, they backed off from their demand and the money was equally distributed to the petitioners’ heirs,” he said.
The civil case that ran for 53 years in various courts had 40 witnesses and 10 advocates. “NLSA contacted all the parties and advocates and based on the suggestions, the case was resolved,” Justice Raghunath said.