Your Advocate
This week Your Advocate is Barrister Omar Khan Joy, Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh. He is the head of the chambers of a renowned law firm, namely, 'Legal Counsel', which has expertise mainly in commercial law, corporate law, family law, employment and labor law, land law, banking law, constitutional law, criminal law, IPR and in conducting litigations before courts of different hierarchies. Our civil and criminal law experts from reputed law chambers will provide the legal summary advice.
Query
I would like to get your kind opinion in accordance to my following information:
#) My 2 uncles, 3 aunts and my father had prepared a deed on a stamp paper regarding allotment (Bontonnama) of 3 of their father's land properties in Dhaka in 1999 in presence of their uncles (brothers of their father). According to that deed, my father, one of my uncle and two aunts ( a total of 4) got possession in one land, the other aunt got possession in the other land and my other uncle got possession in the rest land property. But, they did not register the deed afterwards.
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Meantime, one of my aunt died. As she had no children except her husband, her possession ownership transferred to her living husband, my father, one my uncle, my other uncle's 2 boys and wife (by this time my other uncle died) and my two aunts. As we failed to register that 1999 deed afterwards for showing less value of 3 properties in reference to the government fixed rate and also for the absence of my one uncle and one aunt, we made a new deed (Bontonnama) as per the suggestion of a lawyer and registered it with Tejgaon registry office and finally made their mutations in the land office concerned.
It is mentionable that we mentioned due shares of all my living uncles and aunts including my dead uncle that past among his 2 children and one wife, and also of my dead aunt whose possession shares went among his living husband and my living aunt and uncle, including my father in all the 3 properties of my grandfather. It is simply to say, all the Warishans (according to the succession certificate and Warishan certificates) were shown as the owner of the 3 properties during registering the Bontonnama deed this year.
According to the Bontonnama and Mutation, my father, one uncle and one aunt became owner of one property, my one aunt became owner of the other property, and finally my dead uncle's 2 boys, wife and my other dead aunt's husband became owner of the rest land.
At present, my aunt who became sole owner of a single land is threatening us to lodge a case against my father and other uncle and aunt's property demanding her share that she was supposed to get in absence of my dead aunt. She is showing us the 1999 unregistered deed to establish her claim. Though, in the registry deed we already mentioned that no one will be able claim his/her share in others land, even any legal suit in this regard will be treated as void.
Now my question is: Is there any legal ground under which my aunt will be able to establish her claim in our land despite her declaration of non-claiming in the registry deed.
Thanks & regards,
Saad
Response
I would like to thank you very much for your queries. From the fact it appears that your queries are over the succession of property and claim from your aunt to her shares to the property. As you mentioned, your aunt is claiming her share with reference to the unregistered deed prepared in 1999. Your aunt will not be able to claim her share using that deed as under the Registration Act of 1908, it is compulsory to register instrument of partition of immovable property [Section 17(f)]. The requirement to register such instrument of partition has also been mentioned in Section 143B of the State Acquisition and Tenancy Act 1950. As the deed of 1999 was not registered, any claim having recourse to the same is likely to go in vain.
Considering the amicable partition (i.e. Bontonnama) and Mutation Certificate it is not clear how the Mutation Certificate was obtained. Besides, from the given fact it is also not clear if the distribution of property was done in line with the concerned law of succession. Generally, a Mutation Certificate is obtained by way of filing a succession suit in the competent Court. It has to be considered as well whether the property has been distributed as required under the concerning law of succession. The amicable partition is also unlikely to be challenged provided that the Mutation Certificate in the given fact was obtained from the competent Court and the property distributed in due manner. The mutation of the property as appeared from the fact has also confirmed ownership of your aunt to the respective share. This will also make it impossible for her to raise any question over her ownership. Furthermore, the possibility of instituting any legal suit is likely to be barred as in the registry deed your aunt pledged not to claim any share in other's land and instituting any suit to the same effect.
I hope you will have answers to your queries from the aforesaid opinion.
For detailed query contact: [email protected].
