KALIAMMA vs JANARDHANAN PILLAI & ORS.

The Supreme Court held that for a custom to be recognized as part of general law under Section 57(1) of the Evidence Act, it must be established through evidence in prior decisions. The Court dismissed the appellant's claim for a share in her father's property based on a special kind of Patnibhagam, as the cited decisions did not rely on evidence but rather on observations not necessary for their conclusions. The Court emphasized that earlier decisions must be evidence-based to prove a custom's existence.