By the date that Hartar left the United Kingdom, in 1991, he had had considerable business success. They returned to India and both went to live in Chandigarh.ġ0. When Jagpal left Hainault Road, Hartar left as well.
In the event, it would appear that this was the catalyst for the breakdown of the relationship between Hartar and Diljit. Sundeep's evidence, upon which much of the current summary is based and which evidence I very substantially accept, is that Diljit believed that the very close relationship which had developed between Jagpal and Hartar was an unhealthy one.ĩ. In 1991, Diljit and Jagpal fell out and Diljit asked Jagpal to leave. That estrangement continued until 2002, when Mandi contacted Hartar and when, according to Mandi's uncontested evidence, their relationship was restored.Ĩ. Mandi, however, moved out shortly before her nineteenth birthday, having fallen out with her father over her choice of partner. Diljit continued to live at Hainault Road for the rest of her life. Jagpal moved with the rest of the family to Hainault Road in 1990.ħ. At some point, prior to 1990, Hartar's sister, Jagpal Kaur Sangha (Jagpal), the fifth Defendant, had come to live with Hartar, Diljit, Sundeep and Mandi at Empress Avenue, while studying for a PhD in Economic Geography, in London. Hartar had purchased the Hainault Road plot in 1983 and had, over time, constructed a family home on that site.Ħ.
That property was retained as the family home for Hartar, Diljit, Sundeep and Mandi until 1990, when they moved to 142 Hainault Road, in Chigwell. After a period in rented accommodation, Hartar purchased a property at 17 Empress Avenue, in Ilford. Hartar had come to the United Kingdom in 1963 and Dijit had joined him, as his spouse, in 1965. They were both born in the United Kingdom. Sundeep was born in October 1969 and Mandi in April 1972.
The potential relevance of the validity, or otherwise, of these marriages will appear later in this judgment.ĥ. If that be right, then, since this marriage has never been dissolved, the necessary consequence would be that Jaswinder's purported marriage to Hartar was never valid. Sundeep and Mandi and Diljit's estate all contend that Diljit was lawfully married to Hartar, in October 1962, in an arranged Sikh wedding ceremony in the Punjab. Following her death and by my order of 5th April 2018, the probate claim has been carried on against her estate, as first Defendant, and Sundeep has been appointed to represent her estate.Ĥ. Diljit was, initially the first Defendant in the probate claim. Diljit was born in 1942 and died in March 2018, aged 75. The reason why the validity of Hartar's marriage to Jaswinder is in issue is that for many years Hartar held himself out as being married to Diljit Kaur Sangha (Diljit), by whom Hartar has had two children, Sundeep Singh Sangha (Sundeep) and Mandi Vanderpuye (Mandi), who are, respectively, the second and third Defendants in the probate claim. The validity of Hartar's marriage to Jaswinder is in issue in these proceedings, but, by agreement of the parties, is not to be the subject of a determination in this trial.ģ. He is the fourth Defendant in the probate claim but has taken no part in these proceedings. Harbiksun was born on 1st March 2001 and is, now, 20 years of age. Hartar and Jaswinder had one child, Harbiksun Singh Sangha (Harbiksun). The Claimant, in the probate claim, Jaswinder Kaur Sangha (Jaswinder) was married to Hartar, in Jalandhur, in India in 1992. I will refer to the two Claims as the probate claim and the property claim.Ģ. These two Claims are concerned with the validity of Hartar's wills and the devolution of his assets, under those wills, or otherwise, as between the members of what I will call his extended family. He had been the owner of very substantial assets in India and in the United Kingdom. Hartar Singh Sangha (Hartar) died on 3rd September 2016, in Chandigarh, in the Punjab region of India, aged 72.