Chennai: The Madras High Court has granted an interim stay in a property dispute involving late actress Sridevi, temporarily halting proceedings before a civil court in Chengalpattu over ownership claims to a prime land parcel on Chennai’s East Coast Road.

The order provides temporary relief to the family of Sridevi, who challenged competing claims regarding the property.

Dispute over East Coast Road land

The case relates to 4.77 acres of land on Chennai’s East Coast Road, which Sridevi reportedly purchased in 1988 from the family of Sambandha Mudaliar.

According to court submissions, the actress and her family have remained in possession and enjoyment of the property for more than three decades.

The dispute arose after three individuals, including Natarajan and Sivagami — identified as children of Chandrasekaran Mudaliar’s second wife — obtained a legal heir certificate and filed a civil suit in the Chengalpattu Additional District Court seeking a share in the property.

Kapoor family challenges property claims

In response, Boney Kapoor, along with daughters Janhvi Kapoor and Khushi Kapoor, approached the Chengalpattu court seeking dismissal of the suit.

However, the court refused to reject the case at the preliminary stage, observing that questions related to title and ownership of the disputed property could only be decided after a full trial.

The Kapoor family then moved to the Madras High Court, challenging the maintainability of the civil suit, alleging that the claimants had fraudulently obtained the legal heir certificate using fabricated documents.

Petition alleges irregularities in the heir certificate

The petition argued that although the original property owner lived in Mylapore, the legal heir certificate was obtained from the Tambaram Tahsildar office in 2005 by allegedly misrepresenting facts.

It also questioned the legitimacy of the claimants’ status as legal heirs, contending that the alleged second marriage of Mudaliar took place during the lifetime of his first wife, which would render such claims legally invalid.

High Court stays trial proceedings

Hearing the petition, Justice T V Thamilselvi ordered an interim stay on all proceedings before the Chengalpattu court and posted the matter for further hearing on March 26.

The High Court’s order effectively pauses the ongoing property dispute trial involving Sridevi’s family, with the upcoming hearing expected to determine the validity of the rival ownership claims.

IANS