Section 37 of TPA : Section 37: Apportionment Of Benefit Of Obligation On Severance

Explanation using Example

Imagine a scenario where Mr. Sharma owns a large piece of land with a well that is used by the entire community for irrigation. Mr. Sharma decides to sell the land in three equal parts to Ms. Patel, Mr. Kumar, and Ms. Chen. According to the original agreement between Mr. Sharma and the community, he was obligated to maintain the well and ensure it is functional for the community's use.

After the transfer, Ms. Patel, Mr. Kumar, and Ms. Chen, as the new owners, inherit the obligation to maintain the well. Since the obligation relates to the property as a whole, and the property is now divided, they must fulfill the duty in proportion to their shares.

However, maintaining the well cannot be divided into separate actions for each owner. Therefore, Ms. Patel, Mr. Kumar, and Ms. Chen must jointly agree on how to manage the well's maintenance. They decide that Ms. Patel will be responsible for this year's maintenance, and they will rotate the responsibility each year. This arrangement is communicated to the community, ensuring that the community knows whom to approach for well-related issues.

If the community was not informed about the severance of the property and the arrangement between the new owners, they would continue to approach Mr. Sharma for maintenance. Mr. Sharma, in this case, would not be liable for the maintenance as he had transferred the property and the obligation was now on the new owners, who had failed to give reasonable notice to the community about the change in responsibility.