In a big relief for the producer Boney Kapoor and daughters Janhvi Kapoor and Khushi KapoorThe Madras High Court has dismissed a civil suit filed in 1988 over a property in Chennai bought in the name of the late actress Sridevi.According to the Bar and Bench, the High Court set aside the order of the Chengalpattu court which refused to dismiss the suit filed by MC Sivakami, MC Natarajan and Chandrabhanu. Justice TV Thamilselvi allowed the civil review petition filed by Boney Kapoor and his daughter in a case titled Boney Kapoor Vs C Sivakami.
What was the issue?
The case revolved around a 2.70 acre plot in Sholinganallur, Chennai. The plaintiffs claimed to be the legal heirs of late MC Chandrasekaran and claimed partition rights over the property.They also challenged the sale deeds issued in 1988 in favor of Sridevi, her mother and sister, saying that the vendors allegedly had no valid title to the land.According to the plaintiffs, the land originally belonged to MC Sambanda Mudaliar, who had purchased large tracts of land in the area in 1943. They also said that they only came to know about the alleged scam in 2023, after a patta was issued in favor of Boney Kapoor, Janhvi Kapoor and Khushi Kapoor.
The Supreme Court finds the claim “unbelievable”.
Boney Kapoor and his daughter moved the High Court seeking dismissal of the suit under Article VII of Order 11 of the Civil Procedure Code. According to the ruleThe Kapoors argued that the plaintiffs were not the Class I legal heirs of MC Chandrasekaran and further pointed out that Chandrasekaran himself had never challenged the sale deeds of 1988 during his lifetime. While Chandrasekaran died in 1995, the case was filed only in 2025.The High Court agreed with the Kapoors and alleged that nearly four decades had passed since the execution of the sale deeds, barring them from limitation.
The court also noted that the plaintiffs failed to inform that Chandrasekaran’s first wife Banumathi was alive at the time of his death. He further stated that the legal heir certificate relied upon by the plaintiffs had already been cancelled.“Therefore, the legitimate claim made by the plaintiffs that they are the legal heirs of the deceased Chandrasekaran is also not sustainable in law,” the Court observed.Rejecting the plaintiffs’ claim that they came to know about the property transaction only in 2023, the Court observed, “Furthermore, it is completely implausible that the said purchase in the name of Sridevi was known only in 2023.”
“Strong” court requirements
The court further observed that after Sridevi’s death, the property was legally handed over to Boney Kapoor, Janhvi Kapoor and Khushi Kapoor.Describing the case as an obnoxious attempt to grab property, the Court observed: “The present suit for relief of partition was filed by abusing the process of law only to grab property, with a malicious claim.”The High Court finally allowed the revision petition filed by Kapoor, set aside the earlier order of the court and dismissed the complaint.
