Property and injunctions

Suit for partition format

Drafting a suit for partition of joint family or co-owned property: the genealogy, the schedule of properties, computation of shares, court fee, and the preliminary and final decree procedure.

A suit for partition is filed by a co-owner or coparcener to have their share separated and put in exclusive possession. The plaint must set out the relationship of the parties through a genealogy, describe every item of joint property in a schedule, state how each item became joint, specify the share claimed and the basis of the computation, and plead any prior partition or ouster. Partition suits proceed through a preliminary decree declaring shares and a final decree effecting division, ordinarily through a Commissioner, under Order XX Rule 18 CPC.

Governed by
  • Order XX Rule 18, Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
  • Hindu Succession Act, 1956, including Section 6 as amended in 2005
  • Partition Act, 1893
  • State court fees and suits valuation legislation
Where it is filed
The civil court within whose jurisdiction the properties, or any of them, are situated.
Who files it
Any co-owner or coparcener entitled to a share, including a daughter, who is a coparcener by birth under Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 as amended.
Time limit
A co-owner in joint possession has a continuing right, and limitation runs from ouster or express denial of the plaintiff's share, ordinarily twelve years from that date.
Court fee and stamp
Computed under the State's court fees legislation, commonly on the value of the plaintiff's share, with a different basis if the plaintiff is out of possession.

What a suit for partition must contain

The parts below are the structure of the document in filing order. The operative wording is a matter for the drafting advocate and for the practice of the court concerned.

  1. 1.Cause title and parties

    The court, and every person having a share impleaded, since a partition decree binds all sharers.

  2. 2.Genealogy

    A genealogical table showing the common ancestor and the descent of every party, with dates of death where relevant.

  3. 3.Schedule of properties

    Item-wise description with survey number, extent, boundaries, door number and the nature of each item: ancestral, self-acquired, or jointly purchased.

  4. 4.How the property became joint

    Inheritance, survivorship, joint purchase or blending, pleaded item by item.

  5. 5.Share claimed

    The fraction claimed and the arithmetic by which it is arrived at, taking into account each sharer.

  6. 6.Prior dealings

    Any earlier partition, family arrangement, alienation, or oral partition alleged, and the plaintiff's answer to it.

  7. 7.Relief

    A preliminary decree declaring shares, division by metes and bounds through a Commissioner, delivery of separate possession, mesne profits, and costs.

Mistakes that get this document returned

  • Leaving out a sharer, which makes the decree incomplete and invites a fresh suit.
  • A schedule that does not match the revenue records, so the Commissioner cannot identify the item.
  • Not pleading alienations made by other co-owners, which have to be worked out in the final decree.
  • Claiming a share arithmetically inconsistent with the genealogy pleaded.

Frequently asked questions

Do daughters have a right in ancestral property?

Yes. Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 as amended in 2005 makes a daughter a coparcener by birth on the same footing as a son, and the Supreme Court in Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma held the right does not depend on the father being alive on the date of the amendment.

What is a preliminary decree in a partition suit?

A decree that declares the shares of the parties. The actual division by metes and bounds is worked out afterwards, ordinarily through a Commissioner, and recorded in the final decree under Order XX Rule 18 CPC.

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Related formats

Last reviewed 30 August 2026. This guide is general information about court procedure for advocates. It is not legal advice and does not replace the rules of practice of the court you are filing in.