The Andhra Pradesh High Court ruled on Monday (March 30) that parental property inherited by a Hindu woman will revert to her father’s heir – not her husband – if she dies without leaving a valid will, under the Live Law. The court specified that such property must not go to her husband or his heirs.
With reference to § 15 paragraph 2 letter (a) of the Hindu Succession Act, Justice Tarlada Rajasekhar Rao stated: “A mere reading of Section 15(2)(a) of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 makes it clear that if property is inherited by a Hindu woman from her father or mother in the absence of any child, the estate devolves to the deceased.”
“The husband will not get any right to the property she inherited from her father,” the court said.
The case concerns land owned by a woman who had two granddaughters. In 2002, the woman donated the property to her first granddaughter. When the granddaughter died in 2005, the woman canceled it and took the property back. Subsequently, she wrote a registered will leaving the same property to her second granddaughter, who is the petitioner in this case.
Living Law mentioned that when the petitioner’s grandmother died in 2012, she sought an official transfer in her name. By order dated 10/10/2017, the Chief Financial Officer (Respondent 3) canceled the earlier records, which also mentioned the first granddaughter of the original owner, and ordered the necessary changes.
However, the husband of the deceased granddaughter challenged the changes at the revision office – joint collector (respondent 2). The RA-JC ruled in his favor.
The other granddaughter then challenged the order in the High Court on the ground that since her sister had died childless, her husband was not entitled to any right or title to the property.
The court ruled that the first granddaughter’s husband had no title from his late wife.
The Court held: “… when the non-official respondent is not entitled to the property under Section 15(2)(a) of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, the non-official respondent is not entitled to claim the property and in respect of the same the deed of gift entered into by the original owner in favor of the wife of the 5th non-official respondent does not acquire any right to the property.”
The Andhra Pradesh High Court also set aside the earlier order and directed the Tehsildar to officially update the revenue records with the second granddaughter as the rightful owner.
