Can my wife claim my grand parents/parents/my property

Dear Querist

Under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, females are granted ownership of all property acquired either before or after the signing of the Act, abolishing their “limited owner" status. However, it was not until the 2005 Amendment that daughters were allowed equal receipt of property as with sons. This invariably grants females property rights.

The property of a Hindu female dying intestate, or without a will, shall devolve in the following order:

1. upon the sons and daughters (including the children of any pre-deceased son or daughter) and the husband,
2. upon the heirs of the husband.
3. upon the heirs of the father, and
4. upon the heirs of the mother.

14. Property of a female Hindu to be her absolute Property.-

(1) Any property possessed by a female Hindu, whether acquired before or after the commencement of this Act, shall be held by her as full owner thereof and not as a limited owner.

Explanation.- In this sub-section, “property” includes both movable and immovable property acquired by a female Hindu by inheritance or devise, or at a partition, or in lieu of arrears of maintenance, or by gift from any person, whether a relative or note, before, at or after her marriage, or by her own skill or exertion, or by purchase or by prescripttion, or in any other manner whatsoever, and also any such property held by her as stridhana immediately before the commencement of this Act.

(2) Nothing contained in sub-section (1) shall apply to any property acquired by way of gift or under a will or any other instrument or under a decree or order of a civil court or under an award where the terms of the gift, will or other instrument or the decree, order or award prescribe a restricted estate in such property.

COMMENTS

Absolute ownership of property

(i) Property given to widow in lieu of her maintenance, after coming into force of Hindu Succession Act, ripens into full estate and widow becomes absolute owner in view of section 14(1) of the Act; Santosh v. Saraswathibai, AIR 2006 Kant 85.

(ii) The respondent had a limited widow’s estate in the scheduled properties which was given to her in lier of her maintenance and the same ripened into an absolute estate in view of the provisions of section 14 (1) of the Act. Thus, the Act made her an absolute owner; Yemanappa Dudappa Marve v. Yelubai, AIR 2003 Karn 396.

(iii) Any property possessed by a Hindu female, irrespective of how it was acquired, becomes her absolute property after coming into force of the Act in view of the operation of section 14(1); Chaudhary v. Ajudhia, AIR 2003 NOC 126 (HP).

(iv) The testator had given the property to Sarjabai only for a limited period, hence she would not be its absolute owner under sub-section (1) of section 14. The property would, in fact, be governed by sub-section (2) of section 14 as the court should give effect to the intention of the testator; Bhura v. Kashiram, AIR 1994 SC 1202.

(v) Sub-section (2) of section 14 must be read as a proviso or exception to sub-section (1) of section 14 and its operation must be confined to cases where property is acquired for the first time as a grant without any pre-existing right. If the female had an existing interest in the property, the interposition of any instrument will not affect the operation of sub-section (1) of section 14 and the property will be held by the female as her absolute property; M. Shamugha Udayar v. Sivanandam, AIR 1994 Mad 123.

(vi) When some property is allotted to the widow in lieu of her claim for maintenance, she becomes its absolute owner; V. Tulsamma v. Sesha Reddy, AIR 1977 SC 1944.

(vii) The right of the alliance is co-extensive with that of the widow; Jagat Singh v. Teja Singh, AIR 1970 P&H 309 (FB).

Extent

(i) The words “any property possessed by a female Hindu” include actual as well as constructive possession. Even when the property is in the possession of a trespasser, she is in its constructive possession; Mangal v. Ratno, AIR 1967 SC 1786.

(ii) The word ‘possessed’ is used in the broad sense and in the context means the state of owning or having in ones hand or power; Gurumalappuru v. Setra, AIR 1959 SC 577.

Scope

(i) The expression “female Hindu” in the heading of section 14 of the Act as well as the expression “any property possessed by a female Hindu” have to be given a wider interpretation in consonance with the wishes and desires of the framers of the Constitution. The expression ‘female Hindu’ would take in “daughter” also. Therefore, limited interest of daughter in property would get enlarged to full right after the commencement of the Act; Jose v. Ramakrishnan Nair Radhakrishnan, AIR 2004 Ker 16.

(ii) If no property is given in lieu of maintenance and only a sum of money is given, then section 14 does not apply; Sulabha v. Abhimanyu, AIR 1983 Ori 71.

15. General rules of succession in the case of female Hindus.-

(1) The property of a female Hindu dying intestate shall devolve according to the rules set out in section 16,-

(a) firstly, upon the sons and daughters (including the children of any pre-deceased son or daughter) and the husband.

(b) secondly, upon the heirs of the husband.

(c) thirdly, upon the heirs of the father, and

(d) fourthly, upon the heirs of the father, and

(e) lastly, upon the heirs of the mother.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1),-

(a) any property inherited by a female Hindu from her father or mother shall devolve, in the absence of any son or daughter of the deceased (including the children of any pre-deceased son or daughter) not upon the other heirs referred to in sub-section (1) in the order specified therein, but upon the heirs of the father, and

(b) any property inherited by a female Hindu from her husband or from her father-in-law shall devolve, in the absence of any son or daughter of the deceased (including the children of any pre-deceased son or daughter ) not upon the other heirs referred to in sub-section (1) in the order specified therein, but upon the heirs of the husband.

COMMENTS

Extent

(i) When a female inherits property from her brother, inheritance to it is governed by section 15(1) of the Act 1956; Balasaheb v. Jaimala, AIR 1978 Bom 44.

(ii) Son and daughter include son and daughter by natural birth legitimate or illegitimate; Gurbachan v. Khichar Singh, AIR 1971 Punj 240.

Succession on death of Hindu female

(i) The object of section 15(2) is to ensure that the property left by a Hindu female does not lose the real source from where the deceased female had inherited the property, one has no option but to hold that son or daughter (including the children of any pre-deceased son or daughter) of such a Hindu female will mean the son or daughter begotten by the Hindu female from the husband whose property she had inherited, and not the son or daughter whom she had begotten from a husband other than the one, whose property she had inherited. If such property is allowed to be drifted away from the source through which the deceased female has actually inherited the property, the object of section 15(2) will be defeated; Dhanistha Kalita v. Ramakanta Kalita, AIR 2003 Gau 92.

(ii) Hindu female inherited property from her deceased husband. If the property is allowed to be inherited by a son or daughter, whom the deceased female had begotten not through her husband, whose property it was, but from some other husband then, section 15(2)(b) will become meaningless and redundant; Dhanistha Kalita v. Ramakanta Kalita, AIR 2003 Gau 92.

(iii) The intent of the Legislature is clear that the property, if originally belonged to the parents of the deceased female, should go to the legal heirs of the father. So also under clause (b) of sub-section (2) of section 15, the property inherited by a female Hindu from her husband or her father-in-law, shall also under similar circumstances, devolve upon the heirs of the husband. It is the source from which the property was inherited by the female, which is more important for the purpose of devolution of her property. The fact that a female Hindu originally had a limited right and later acquired the full right, in any way, would not alter the rules of succession given in sub-section (2) of section15; Bhagat Ram (D) by L.Rs. v. Teja Singh (D) by L.Rs., AIR 2002 SC 1.

(iv) The mother became an absolute owner of the property which she inherited from her husband after his death in 1950 but after the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 came in force, before 1956 her interest being limited. Hence, it has been held that the property after the death of the mother shall be inherited by her son and daughter under section 15(1)(a) and not under any other provision of law; Debahari Kumbhar v. Sribatsa Patra, AIR 1994 Ori 86.

16. Order of succession and manner of distribution among heirs of a female Hindu. -

The order of succession among the heirs referred to in section 15 shall be, and the distribution of the intestate property among those heirs shall take place according to the following rules, namely:-

Rule 1 .- Among the heirs specified in sub-section (1) of section 15, those in one entry shall be preferred to those in any succeeding entry and those including in the same entry shall take simultaneously.

Rule 2.- If any son or daughter of the intestate had pre-deceased the intestate leaving his or her own children alive at the time of the intestate’ death, the children of such son or daughter shall take between them the share which such son or daughter would have taken if living at the intestate’s death.

Rule 3.—The devolution of the property of the intestate on the heirs referred to in clauses (b), (d) and (e) of sub-section (1) and in sub-section (2) to section 15 shall be in the same order and according to the same rules as would have applied if the property had been the father’s or the mother’s or the husband’s as the case may be, and such person had died intestate in respect thereof immediately after the intestate’s death.

i guess my question has been misunderstood. My grandmother and mother are planning to transfer their property to me in the form of gift. once its transferred to me, can my wife can claim a share in the property. My lawyer told that my daughter can claim that property as it is ancestors property and As my daughter is 1 year old , my wife can claim on my daughter's behalf... is it true?

I have the same question. Did you get any answer?