Execution Court Cannot Decide Validity of Partition Deed:  Supreme Court Clarifies Jurisdictional Divide Between Civil and Execution Courts

“Whether the KBPP is a valid partition deed or a family arrangement is a question for the Civil Court, not the Executing Court” –  In a significant clarification of procedural law, the Supreme Court of India has drawn a firm line between the jurisdiction of Civil Courts and Execution Courts, particularly in matters involving challenge to the validity of family arrangements and alleged conciliation awards. The judgment reiterates that Execution Courts are not competent to adjudicate complex questions concerning coercion, fraud, or the validity of agreements such as a partition deed.

“Whether the KBPP is a valid document, sustainable as a partition deed or a family arrangement, cannot be examined by the Execution Court and for that, the only possible mode is a suit properly instituted,” the Court held, restoring the plaintiffs’ civil suit which had been earlier rejected by the Trial Court and the Madras High Court.

KBPP: Partition Deed or Award? Dispute Beyond Execution Court’s Domain

At the centre of the case was the Kaithadi Baga Pirivinai Pathiram (KBPP), a document allegedly executed by the parties in December 2018 to divide massive family assets. The Vaikundarajan group had initiated execution proceedings under Section 36 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, claiming the KBPP and a subsequent document dated 02.01.2019 constituted a binding Conciliation Award.

The Jegatheesan group, however, filed a civil suit challenging both documents—one as vitiated by coercion and misrepresentation, and the other as a fabricated award never resulting from a lawful conciliation process under Part III of the 1996 Act.

The key legal question arose: Can the Execution Court, while hearing objections under Section 47 of the CPC, decide on the fundamental validity of the partition deed or the alleged award?

The apex court answered in the negative, affirming the distinct constitutional role of the Civil Court in such circumstances.

Validity of Document Must Be Tested in Suit, Not Execution

In unequivocal terms, the bench observed:

“If the objection raised by the judgment-debtors in the Execution Petition under Section 47 is accepted by the Executing Court, that the document dated 02.01.2019 is not brought about after a proper conciliation proceeding, then the execution cannot proceed. That would not, however, enable the Executing Court to look into the challenge raised against the KBPP on the specific grounds…”

Thus, even if the Execution Court halts execution on the basis that the alleged Conciliation Award is defective, it has no jurisdiction to adjudicate whether the KBPP is enforceable as a family arrangement or voidable on account of coercion or undue influence.

Remedy Lies in Civil Suit

Reinstating the suit, the Court reinforced the need for a full trial to address the plaintiffs’ claims that the KBPP was executed under duress, with unequal division and without informed consent:

“The challenge to the KBPP cannot be left unresolved… the only possible mode is a suit properly instituted.”

The Court went further to reject the lower courts’ conclusion that the plaintiffs were precluded from pursuing the civil suit due to pending objections under Section 47 CPC. It made clear that both remedies can proceed concurrently—since they pertain to distinct causes of action and separate questions of law.

“We also cannot accept the grounds of simultaneous proceedings in the suit and the objection under Section 47, to be an abuse of process of law,” the Court noted, pointing out that the objections and the suit had already been clubbed together by judicial order for joint trial.

This ruling carries far-reaching implications for civil litigants, reinforcing the doctrine that questions of title, validity, or coercion in agreements must be determined in a civil suit, not in execution proceedings. The Court’s reaffirmation of jurisdictional limits ensures that due process is followed where intricate questions of law and fact intersect with familial and commercial relationships.

The case also underscores the Court’s commitment to substantive justice over procedural shortcuts, especially in high-stakes family property disputes.

Date of Decision: February 10, 2026