India, Dec. 23 -- Ego and greed have eroded the 'noble and precious' bond between a brother and a sister and the relationship is now fraught with "disputes, emotional tension or unresolved conflict", the Bombay High Court observed last week while hearing a dispute between a Ghatkopar-based brother and sister, both senior citizens, over property.

"The root cause of this broken sibling relationship can be attributed to greed, ego and desire of a materialistic life than to crave for life with peace and harmony. Siblings should learn to give up than to give into litigation," justice Jitendra Jain said in his order dated December 19.

Referring to the brother's defamation suit against his sister for allegedly using "abusive language" against ...