Partition Suit in Bangladesh 2026: Who May Sue, Decrees, Saham, Fees and Timelines

Partition suit in Bangladesh: the 2026 position

A partition suit in Bangladesh is the court process that turns an undivided share of land into a separate, identifiable plot with its own title, possession and records. Most joint ownership in the country arises from inheritance, and most of it stays undivided for decades: brothers farm different corners of the same dag, a widow lives in one room of the family house, and a cousin quietly sells "his portion" to an outsider. When the co-owners cannot agree a division, the law gives each of them the right to ask the court to divide the property, or to sell it and split the proceeds.

In 2026 the route to that result has changed. Partition disputes within the Civil Judge's jurisdiction must now pass through legal aid mediation before filing in covered districts, the Code of Civil Procedure has been amended to speed up trials and execution, and the High Court Division has restated firm rules on preliminary decrees, commissioners and appeals. This guide covers who may sue, the two decrees, the saham, the Partition Act 1893, court fees, timelines and the registered partition deed.

Summary: A partition suit divides jointly owned property among its co-sharers in two stages. The court first passes a preliminary decree declaring who owns what share, then appoints a commissioner to mark out each party's saham on the ground, and finally passes a final decree allotting specific plots, or orders a sale under the Partition Act 1893 where division is impractical. In covered districts, smaller partition disputes must go to legal aid mediation first. A registered partition deed among heirs achieves the same result without litigation.

Key point: The preliminary decree is the decisive moment. A party who does not appeal it is barred by section 97 of the Code of Civil Procedure from disputing it later, and the High Court Division held in November 2025 that a preliminary decree merges into the final decree once the commissioner's report is accepted. Shares, parties and the schedule of land must be fought over before that decree, not after.

At a glance

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Table of Contents

What a partition suit in Bangladesh decides

Joint ownership gives every co-sharer an interest in every part of the property but exclusive rights in none. A partition suit in Bangladesh settles, in one proceeding, who the co-sharers are, what fraction each holds, which physical portion each will take, and whether any party must pay another to equalise the division. The High Court Division put the point directly in November 2024: in a partition suit all disputes between the co-sharers as to the extent of title and possession are finally determined.[11]

The local word for the suit is batwara, and the plot eventually allotted to each party is the saham. The plaint usually prays for a separate saham for the plaintiff in a specific schedule of land.

Partition is the co-sharer's proper remedy

A co-sharer who is unhappy with how the joint land is being used cannot normally sue another co-sharer for declaration of title and recovery of possession over unpartitioned land. The High Court Division has held that such a suit is not maintainable between co-sharers and that the proper remedy of an aggrieved co-sharer is a suit for partition; it allowed the plaintiffs in that case to amend their plaint to convert it into one.[11] The same judgment confirmed that a co-sharer is at liberty to bring a suit for partition at any point of time, so the right does not lapse merely because the family has lived with an informal arrangement for years.[11]

The legal framework for a partition suit in Bangladesh in 2026

The rules come from the Code of Civil Procedure 1908, the Partition Act 1893, the personal law fixing each heir's share, and the registration and record-of-rights statutes.

The Code of Civil Procedure

The Code supplies the procedure. Order XX rule 18 governs decrees in suits for partition and separate possession of a share, allowing the court to pass a preliminary decree declaring the rights of the parties where partition cannot be made without further inquiry. Order XXVI rules 13 and 14 allow the court to issue a commission to make the partition and set out how the commissioner divides the property and how the court deals with the report. Section 54 deals with partition of revenue-paying estates, and section 97 bars a party who did not appeal a preliminary decree from disputing it in an appeal from the final decree.[2] [13]

The Partition Act 1893

The Partition Act supplements the Code for cases where physical division is not sensible. It gives the court power to order a sale instead of division, sets the procedure where a co-sharer undertakes to buy, protects family dwelling-houses against outsiders who buy into them, provides for reserved bidding and bidding by shareholders, and treats orders for sale as decrees.[1]

What changed in 2025 and 2026

Three reforms now shape every new partition case. First, pre-case mediation through the district legal aid office is compulsory for partition disputes within the Civil Judge's jurisdiction in covered districts, now under the Legal Aid Services (Amendment) Act 2026.[5] Second, on 16 April 2026 the Law Minister, Md Asaduzzaman, told Parliament that the Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Bill 2026 had passed, allowing summons by SMS and voice call, plaints and written statements by affidavit, direct cross-examination, and execution applications in the original case.[8] Third, the court once called the Assistant Judge's court is now the Civil Judge's court, which explains the change of wording between the 2025 and 2026 mediation lists.[5] [6]

Who may file a partition suit, and who must be joined

Any co-sharer may sue, whatever the size of the share: a one-sixteenth holder has the same right as a half-owner.

Heirs

Most partition suits are between heirs, whose shares are fixed by the personal law of the deceased. The court applies those rules to each death in the chain of succession, often across two or three generations, and errors in that chain are the commonest reason a preliminary decree is later attacked. Our guide to inheritance law in Bangladesh explains the share rules, and the companion guide on the succession certificate in Bangladesh covers the documents heirs use to prove their status.

Purchasers of an undivided share

A person who buys a co-sharer's undivided interest steps into the seller's position and may sue for partition of that share. Two statutory checks apply. Under section 4 of the Partition Act, where a share of a dwelling-house belonging to an undivided family is transferred to an outsider who then sues for partition, a member of the family may offer to buy that share at a value fixed by the court.[1] Separately, a co-sharer may have a statutory right of pre-emption over a sale to a stranger, which is covered in our guide to pre-emption in Bangladesh.

Every co-sharer must be a party

All co-sharers must be before the court, as plaintiffs or defendants. A decree passed without a co-sharer does not bind that person, who may challenge it in a separate suit and stall execution for years. List every heir of every deceased recorded owner and every purchaser or donee of an undivided share.

What a plaintiff may not do is mix in claims against outsiders. The High Court Division held in March 2026 that a plaintiff cannot combine a cause of action against non-co-sharer defendants, such as a title and possession claim against a stranger, with a partition claim against co-sharers in a single suit, and remanded a suit that had done so.[14] The same judgment insisted that land be identified by current khatian and plot numbers, with boundaries where needed, because no decree can be passed over land that remains vague or unspecified.[14]

Defendants who want their own saham

A defendant who wants a separate allotment does not need a cross-suit. In a May 2024 judgment, the High Court Division confirmed that a defendant who appears, claims a saham and pays ad valorem court fee is to be treated like a plaintiff, and set aside a final decree that had left such a defendant without his allotted share.[12] A defendant who stays silent, by contrast, risks having the residue of the land left joint while everyone else walks away with a plot.

Mandatory legal aid mediation before filing

Before a partition suit in Bangladesh can be filed in a covered district, the dispute may first have to go to mediation. The Legal Aid Services (Amendment) Ordinance 2025 introduced pre-case mediation from September 2025, and reporting on its rules described the covered categories as including partition disputes within the jurisdiction of the Assistant Judge's court.[6] The Legal Aid Services (Amendment) Act 2026 continued the regime: reporting on National Legal Aid Day in April 2026 listed partition disputes in the Civil Judge's court among nine categories that must go to legal aid mediation before court.[5]

How the process works

The application is made to the district legal aid office. Mediation is conducted by the chief legal aid officer, a legal aid officer or a special mediator, and under the rules issued in September 2025 it must be concluded within 21 working days. If it fails, the office issues a mediation failure certificate, which allows the aggrieved party to file in court.[6]

A successful settlement carries the same weight as a court judgment or decree, and a settlement reached through legal aid cannot be challenged by the usual route of appeal or revision.[5] A mediated partition must therefore describe each saham as precisely as a final decree would: mouza, khatian, dag, area, boundaries, access and any equalising payment.

Where it applies and what it has achieved

The programme began in twelve pilot districts, had run in twenty districts by mid-2026, and on 21 July 2026 was inaugurated in ten more: Bogura, Thakurgaon, Patuakhali, Bhola, Natore, Jashore, Shariatpur, Cox's Bazar, Panchagarh and Tangail.[7] The Law Minister reported that partition suits filed in Civil Judge courts in the pilot districts fell from 2,001 in February to May 2025 to 661 in the same months of 2026, a drop of about 67 per cent.[7] Check the current notification before filing; elsewhere mediation remains voluntary, and our guide to mediation in Bangladesh explains the other routes.

Court, valuation, court fees and limitation

Which court hears the suit

The suit is filed where the property lies, in the lowest-grade court competent on the valuation: the Civil Judge, Senior Civil Judge or Joint District Judge. Pecuniary limits are set out in our guide to civil suit filing in Bangladesh.

Court fees depend on possession

The court fee turns on one question: is the plaintiff in possession? Under section 7(vi A) of the Court-fees Act 1870, a plaintiff who has been excluded from possession of the property in which he claims to be a co-owner pays according to the market value of the share in respect of which the suit is instituted.[3] A co-sharer still in joint possession pays a fixed fee under Schedule II instead.[3] A defendant who claims a saham pays ad valorem court fee on that claim, which is what gives the defendant the standing of a plaintiff.[12]

Plead possession honestly: a false claim of joint possession invites a valuation objection and, at worst, a finding of ouster. Our guide to court fees in Bangladesh explains how a deficit is cured.

Limitation: no deadline, with one exception

A co-sharer may sue for partition at any time while the property remains joint.[11] The exception is ouster. If another co-sharer has openly excluded the plaintiff and held the land adversely for the statutory period, the plaintiff's share may be lost. In March 2026 the High Court Division restated that in a partition suit the possession of one co-sharer is possession on behalf of all, unless there is a specific claim of adverse possession against the co-sharer out of possession. A brother who has cultivated all the family land for twenty years does not, by that fact alone, acquire his sisters' shares.[14]

Preparing and filing the plaint

A well-prepared plaint is the cheapest way to shorten a partition suit in Bangladesh. Since the 2026 amendments, the facts in the plaint are verified by affidavit, so careless pleading now carries a direct personal risk.[8]

The schedule of land

The schedule must identify the property by district, upazila, mouza, JL number, khatian numbers in each survey (CS, SA, RS and, where available, BS or city survey), dag numbers, area and boundaries. Exclude land already sold or acquired, and explain why; a decree over unidentifiable land cannot be executed.[14]

The genealogy and the shares

Set out a family tree from the recorded owner to every living co-sharer, with the share derived at each step, and attach certified khatians, deeds, mutation records and inheritance certificates. A share table that adds up to exactly one saves weeks at the issues stage.

Evidence and interim protection

Evidence-in-chief can now be given by affidavit, followed by direct cross-examination, and summons may be served by SMS or voice call.[8] While the suit is pending, the usual risks are construction on the joint land and sale of a specific plot to an outsider. Courts are generally slow to injunct one co-sharer at another's request where both are in joint possession, and more often direct the parties to maintain the status quo. Apply early, with photographs and a sketch map, and ask for a time-bound hearing.

Once the written statement is filed, the court may also send the suit to mediation under section 89A of the Code, so a partition dispute in a covered district may be mediated twice: once before filing and again in court.[2] Our guide to court-annexed mediation in Bangladesh explains that second stage.

The preliminary decree: shares are fixed here

After issues are framed and evidence is heard, the court decides who the co-sharers are and what share each holds, and passes a preliminary decree under Order XX rule 18.[2] The preliminary decree does not divide the land. It declares rights: the plaintiff is entitled to a saham of so many decimals out of the schedule, specified defendants to theirs, and the remainder stays with the others.

Appeal now or never

The single most important procedural rule in a partition suit in Bangladesh is that the preliminary decree must be challenged when it is passed. Section 97 of the Code bars a party who did not appeal the preliminary decree from disputing its correctness in an appeal from the final decree.[2] In November 2025 the High Court Division applied that rule strictly. It held that the preliminary decree cannot be reopened or revised separately once a final decree is drawn up, that a preliminary decree, irrespective of the forum that passed it, merges into the final decree, and that no separate revision lies against it where the party participated in the final-decree proceedings; it dismissed a revision filed 1,699 days late.[13]

Disputes about the genealogy, the validity of a purchase deed, the inclusion or exclusion of a plot, or the size of a share must therefore be taken on appeal at the preliminary stage. Our guide to the civil appeal in Bangladesh explains forum and limitation. The appeal clock is short and runs from the decree, so order certified copies immediately.

The commissioner and the saham

Once the preliminary decree is passed, the court issues a commission under Order XXVI rule 13 to make the partition according to the rights declared.[2] The commissioner, usually an advocate assisted by a surveyor, measures the land, hears the parties and reports with a map dividing the property into sahams.

How the saham is drawn

The commissioner must allot each party the area the preliminary decree declares, but how the land is cut is a matter of judgment. Commissioners and courts try to keep each party's existing homestead, house or cultivated portion within that party's saham, give each plot road or path access, keep valuable frontage evenly distributed, and avoid fragments too small to use. Arrangements the family has actually acted upon, such as separate homesteads, carry real weight.

Engage with the commission: attend the measurement with your own surveyor and put allotment proposals in writing.

Objections and costs

The commissioner's report is filed in court, the parties may object, and under Order XXVI rule 14 the court may confirm, vary or set aside the report before passing the final decree.[2] In May 2024 the High Court Division set aside a report and final decree that left a defendant without his decreed share, held that the final decree must follow the preliminary decree, and directed that the parties bear the commissioner's cost according to their shares.[12]

Final decree, sale under the Partition Act and execution

The final decree

When the court accepts the commissioner's report, with or without variation, it passes the final decree allotting specific plots to specific parties. The final decree is what gives each party exclusive title to an identified saham, and the High Court Division has confirmed that once the report is accepted and the final decree is signed, the preliminary decree merges into it.[13] Obtain certified copies at once for appeal and mutation.

When the court orders a sale instead

Some property cannot sensibly be divided: a single flat, a small shop, a narrow urban plot with one frontage, or land held by so many co-sharers that each saham would be a strip. Section 2 of the Partition Act 1893 lets the court order a sale and distribute the proceeds where, because of the nature of the property, the number of shareholders or other special circumstances, division cannot reasonably or conveniently be made and a sale would be more beneficial, on the request of shareholders interested individually or collectively to the extent of one moiety or upwards.[1]

Section 3 then protects the family: where a shareholder applies to buy the share of the party asking for sale, the court orders a valuation and offers that share to the applicant at the valued price.[1] Every sale is subject to a reserved bid fixed by the court, shareholders may bid, and an order for sale is deemed a decree, so it can be appealed and executed like one.[1] For urban property, a negotiated buy-out at an independent valuation is often the best outcome.

Execution and possession

A final decree does not by itself put anyone in possession. If a co-sharer refuses to vacate an allotted saham, the decree-holder executes it. Under the 2026 amendments, execution applications are filed in the original case rather than as separate proceedings.[8] Delay by the losing side is not rewarded: in November 2025 the High Court Division held that suppressing the final decree and long delay undermined a petitioner's claim to discretionary relief.[13]

Forcible self-help is now a criminal risk. The Land Crime Prevention and Remedy Act 2023 makes it an offence, punishable with up to two years' imprisonment and a fine, to keep possession of land by force without lawful right, and an offence punishable with up to seven years to transfer land one is not entitled or authorised to transfer.[10]

Amicable partition: the registered bontonnama

Litigation is not the only way to divide joint property. Co-sharers who agree can execute a partition deed, known locally as a bontonnama or batwara dolil, and register it at the sub-registry. It is faster, private and cheaper, and can be shaped around the family's real needs.

Registration is not optional

The Registration Act 1908 lists the documents of which registration is compulsory in section 17, sets out the effect of non-registration in section 49, and contains a dedicated provision, section 78B, on the registration fee for an instrument of partition.[4] An unregistered family arrangement may be evidence of possession, but it cannot divide title or support separate mutation. Ask the sub-registry for the current fee and stamp duty before execution, because the government revises them periodically.

Drafting a partition deed that lasts

A durable deed recites the chain of inheritance and purchase, identifies every co-sharer and the share each holds, schedules each party's saham by dag and area with a sketch map, deals with common passages, ponds and graves, records any equalising payment, and is signed by every co-sharer. Leaving out one heir leaves the deed open to challenge; a co-sharer abroad needs a properly authenticated power of attorney.

Mutation after partition

Whether partition comes from a final decree or a registered deed, the land records must follow. The Ministry of Land clarified in February 2025 that heirs may mutate inherited land jointly on an inheritance certificate without any distribution document, but that separate mutation in each heir's name, with separate tax payment, must be based on a distribution document under section 143B of the State Acquisition and Tenancy Act 1950.[9] Our guide to land mutation in Bangladesh covers the e-mutation process and fees, and our land records, mutation and khatian correction practice handles separate holdings after partition.

Appeals and realistic timelines: how long a partition suit in Bangladesh takes

Partition litigation is slow. Reporting in April 2026 described partition-type disputes in the courts as taking five to ten years.[5] The reported cases show worse. In one suit filed in 2000, the preliminary decree came in 2002 but the final decree only in 2017, and the High Court Division set that final decree aside in 2024 and ordered the trial court to complete a fresh one within six months.[12] In another, a suit filed in 2003 was dismissed in 2016, preliminarily decreed on appeal in 2019 and finally decreed in December 2022, with a revision decided in November 2025.[13]

Most of that time is lost in three places: defective parties and schedules that force amendments or remand, commissions that drag on because parties do not engage, and appeals against the final decree that should have been taken against the preliminary one. Each is avoidable. Both decrees are appealable under section 96, and commissioning errors are corrected by objection and then appeal against the final decree.[2]

Step-by-step: running a partition matter

Whether the result is a registered deed, a mediated settlement or a decree, the sequence of work is the same.

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The comparison below sets out the main routes to a division and what each delivers.

Mistakes to avoid in a partition suit in Bangladesh

• Leaving out a co-sharer. A decree that does not bind every co-sharer invites a fresh suit and can freeze execution.
• Vague schedules. Land not identified by current khatian and plot numbers cannot be decreed or executed.[14]
• Staying silent as a defendant. Claim your own saham and pay the fee, or risk being left with an undivided residue.[12]
• Skipping the preliminary-decree appeal. Section 97 bars the argument later.[2] [13]
• Relying on an unregistered bontonnama. It cannot divide title or support separate mutation.[4] [9]
• Using force. Occupation by force or a sale beyond one's share can now be prosecuted.[10]

How TRW approaches a partition

We start with the records: the chain of title and succession, a share table and a possession map. That shows whether the dispute is about shares, plots or one sale to an outsider, and the answer decides the route, from a registered deed through mediation to a full partition suit in Bangladesh.

Our real estate disputes practice handles contested partitions and appeals, and our inheritance and succession planning practice helps families divide estates early. See also our land dispute litigation guide. If you need a view on your position, contact TRW.

Frequently asked questions

Who can file a partition suit in Bangladesh?

Any co-sharer of jointly held property, whatever the size of the share, including heirs and people who bought an undivided share. A co-sharer may sue at any time while the property remains joint.[11]

Is mediation required before filing a partition suit?

In covered districts, yes, for partition disputes within the Civil Judge's jurisdiction. The dispute goes first to the district legal aid office, mediation must end within 21 working days, and a failure certificate allows filing.[5] [6]

What is the difference between a preliminary and a final decree?

The preliminary decree declares who the co-sharers are and what share each holds. The final decree, passed after the commissioner's report, allots specific plots to specific parties. The preliminary decree merges into the final decree once it is signed.[2] [13]

What is a saham?

The specific portion of the joint property allotted to a party in the partition. The commissioner proposes the sahams in a report and map, and the final decree confirms them.[12]

Can I challenge the preliminary decree after the final decree?

Generally no. Section 97 of the Code of Civil Procedure bars a party who did not appeal the preliminary decree from disputing it later, and the High Court Division has held that no separate revision lies once the final decree is drawn up.[2] [13]

What court fee is payable in a partition suit?

A plaintiff excluded from possession pays ad valorem fee on the market value of the share claimed under section 7(vi A) of the Court-fees Act 1870; a co-sharer in possession pays a fixed Schedule II fee. A defendant claiming a saham pays ad valorem fee on that claim.[3] [12]

Can the court sell the property instead of dividing it?

Yes. Under section 2 of the Partition Act 1893 the court may order a sale where division is impractical and a sale more beneficial, on the request of shareholders holding at least half the interest. Other shareholders may then offer to buy at a court-fixed valuation under section 3.[1]

How long does a partition suit take in Bangladesh?

Commonly five to ten years, and reported cases show longer. Careful preparation of parties and schedules shortens it.[5] [12]

Does a family partition deed need to be registered?

Yes. The Registration Act 1908 makes registration compulsory for listed instruments and sets a separate registration fee for instruments of partition, and separate mutation must be based on a distribution document under section 143B of the State Acquisition and Tenancy Act 1950.[4] [9]

Can a co-sharer sell a specific plot before partition?

A co-sharer can sell an undivided share, but not someone else's land. Transferring land one is not authorised to transfer can be an offence under the Land Crime Prevention and Remedy Act 2023, and the buyer remains exposed to partition and pre-emption claims.[10]