GOVIND HANUMANTHA RAO DESAI vs NAGAPPA ALIAS NARAHARI LAXMAN RAO DESHPANDE AND & 7 ORS.

The Supreme Court held that the appellant's adoption relates back to the date of the adoptive father's death in 1912, making him a coparcener at the time of the 1933 partition. However, the court ruled that the partition is not binding on him, but his adoption does not reunite the divided family, and he cannot claim more than a 1/3 share in the properties. The alternative claim for succession was also dismissed as the adoptive father had no rights at the time of K's death, and the property had already vested in L by succession.