The general principle is that every Hindu family is presumed to be joint unless the contrary is proved;
The general principle is that every Hindu family is presumed to be joint unless the contrary is proved; but this presumption can be rebutted by direct evidence or by course of conduct. It is also settled that there is no presumption that when one member separates from others that the latter remain united ; whether the latter remain 'united or not must be decided on the facts of 'each case. To these it may be added that in the case 'of old transactions, when no 'contemporaneous documents are maintained and when most of the active
participants in the transactions have passed away, though the burden still remains on the person who asserts that there was a partition, it is permissible to fill up gaps more readily by reasonable inferences than in a case where the evidence is not obliterated by passage of time.
Supreme Court of India
Bhagwan Dayal vs Mst. Reoti Devi on 4 September, 1961
Equivalent citations: 1962 AIR 287, 1962 SCR (3) 440
