Daughter's right in ancestral property
Sudeep Naik
(Querist) 12 June 2012
This query is : Resolved
Hi,
We have our ancestral house which was purchased by my great-grandfather in 1930. He passed away around 1960. This house was then renovated in 1970. Then my grandfather and his brother filed a law suite for partition and divided it equally amongst them in 1980. Then my grandfather passed away in 1985 leaving behind 8 legal heirs (1 widow, 2 sons and 5 daughters). My grandmother also passed away in 2011. Now there are 7 legal heirs of the property.
So the last document we have of the house is the court order in my grandfather's name dated 1980. His 2 sons (my father and uncle) are still living in that house.
Now in regards to the right of his daughters (my paternal aunts) who are all dependent on their husbands, do they have equal share in the property if we want to sell it.
Also if we want to renovate/reconstruct (since it is getting too old), do we have the right to do it, and after that can they claim their share in it or force us to sell some part of it?
I have heard from one of my friend that it depends on the time when property was purchased/divided by court/when my grandfather passed, so given all the timeline, what would happen?
What is section 23 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, will it be applied in this case, what does it exactly states?
Please guide us, what should be done in this case?
Thanks,
Sudeep Naik
Sankaranarayanan
(Expert) 12 June 2012
yes your aunts are equal rights on that property and better to show all records to local lawyer and act according his advise
Shonee Kapoor
(Expert) 18 June 2012
Yes they have equal rights.
Regards,
Shonee Kapoor
harassed.by.498a@gmail.com
Anirudh
(Expert) 18 June 2012
All the 7 legal heirs have equal rights int he property and at no point of time will it be possible for you to ignore the rights/claims of your aunts. Any sale done by you without getting the appropriate signature from your aunts and without giving them their share in the sale proceeds will be defective and the purchaser will not get clear title. Your aunts, if they so desire, can approach the court claiming partition - in other words, they can force you to effect partition. The male members cannot simply enjoy the property without making partition and thereby denying the rights of your aunts.
