Madras High Court Issues Interim Stay in Sridevi's Property Dispute
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Chennai, March 17 (NationPress) The Madras High Court has issued an interim stay in a property dispute concerning the late actress Sridevi, effectively suspending ongoing proceedings at a civil court in Chengalpattu.
This ruling provides a significant relief to Sridevi’s family, who are contesting conflicting claims over a valuable piece of land located along Chennai’s East Coast Road.
The contention revolves around a 4.77-acre plot acquired by Sridevi in 1988 from the relatives of Sambandha Mudaliar.
As per the court documents, the actress and her family have maintained possession and enjoyment of the property for more than thirty years.
The conflict emerged when three individuals, identified as Natarajan and Sivagami—children of Chandrasekaran Mudaliar’s second wife—obtained a legal heir certificate and initiated a civil suit in the Chengalpattu Additional District Court, asserting their right to a share in the property.
In reaction, Sridevi’s husband, film producer Boney Kapoor, alongside their daughters and actors Janhvi Kapoor and Khushi Kapoor, petitioned the Chengalpattu court for the dismissal of the suit.
Nonetheless, the court rejected their appeal, noting that matters concerning title and ownership could only be resolved after a comprehensive trial.
Dissatisfied with this ruling, the Kapoor family approached the Madras High Court, contesting the viability of the suit. Their petition claimed that the opposing parties fraudulently obtained the legal heir certificate using falsified documents.
Additionally, the petition argued that while the original property owner resided in Mylapore, the certificate was improperly acquired from the Tambaram Tahsildar office in 2005 through misrepresentation.
It further challenged the legitimacy of the claimants’ legal heir status, asserting that the alleged second marriage of Mudaliar occurred while his first wife was still alive, thus invalidating any claims.
The petitioners contended that the Chengalpattu court erred in not dismissing the suit at the preliminary stage despite these serious allegations.
During the proceedings, Justice T.V. Thamilselvi granted an interim stay on all further actions in the Chengalpattu court and scheduled the case for final hearing on March 26.
This interim order from the High Court effectively halts the current trial, setting the stage for a vital assessment of the competing claims in the days ahead.