Hindu Succession Act, 1956

Pancham executed a 1907 will bequeathing certain sir lands and a house to his daughter Sarjabai. The will's language was held to create only a life interest for Sarjabai, not an absolute estate. After Pancham's death Sarjabai transferred the property by gift deed to several defendants, but the adopted son’s heir, Kashi…

The deceased K. Satyanarayna died intestate, and his brother Karedla Parthasaradhi claimed inheritance of the suit house. Defendant Gangula Ramanamma (defendant No.1) asserted that she was the deceased's legally married wife, having lived with him for over three decades, and thus claimed ownership as a Class‑I heir. Th…

Jagbir Singh was convicted of murder (Sec. 302 IPC) and criminal intimidation (Sec. 506 IPC) for allegedly pouring kerosene on his wife and setting her ablaze. The victim gave three statements: two early statements (24‑01‑2008 and 25‑01‑2008) describing an accidental fire, and a later dying declaration on 27‑01‑2008 im…

The Supreme Court examined whether a Hindu widow’s mere possession of property, without any recognized claim, right or devise, converts her limited interest into absolute ownership under Section 14(1) of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. The appellant, Ajit Kaur, claimed that her mother Banti’s oral gift of the disputed …

The plaintiff filed a suit for partition of joint family property and rendition of accounts, alleging that the business carried on by his father (defendant No. I) on joint family land was a joint family business and that properties acquired from its income were joint family assets. The trial court held the business was…

A family partition deed allotted certain 'A' schedule properties to Maharaja Pillai, and after his death his widow was given the right to receive income from those properties for her maintenance. One of Maharaja Pillai's sons sued for a one‑third share in the properties. The trial court held that the widow enjoyed an a…

The appellant, a grandson, sought to reopen a preliminary ex‑parte decree in a title suit concerning a Hindu joint family property, claiming that his grandmother's life estate under a 1942 compromise decree had become an absolute estate under Section 14(1) of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, and that his mother could be…

Anandi Bai held a shop in Jaipur under an 11‑month lease that was terminated by a notice under Section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act, but she continued in possession and paid rent, becoming a statutory tenant. She died in September 1966 and her heirs (the appellants) were sued for ejectment by the landlord, who a…

Nanak Chand, a displaced person from West Pakistan, disappeared in December 1954. His brother Dewan Chand claimed that Nanak Chand had died and produced a death certificate issued by respectable persons of the place where the family had resided. The Additional Settlement Commissioner, relying on that certificate, subst…

Gomathi Ammal, a Hindu female, died intestate. Her husband and only son had predeceased her, and the appellant, the widow of that pre‑deceased son, filed a suit for declaration of ownership of the deceased's properties. The High Court held that the appellant was not an heir because at the time of the husband's death th…

The appellant Rajendra Kumar claimed possession of property left by Mohanlal, asserting that he had been adopted by Radhabai, the widow of Mahadeo, who was allegedly an adopted son of Mohanlal. The lower courts held that the adoption of a child by a widow to her deceased husband under Section 8 of the Hindu Adoptions a…

A landowner died leaving three sons; one son, B, died leaving his widow S, who occupied his one‑third share for maintenance under Section 11 of the U.P. Zamindari and Land Reforms Act, 1950. After S's death, her daughter C claimed the same one‑third share in consolidation proceedings. The Settlement Officer held S’s ri…

V. Satyanarayana died leaving his widow Raghavamma, a minor son (the appellant) and a daughter (the respondent). A 1955 compromise decree partitioned the estate, granting the widow a life interest with reversion to the son. After the Andhra Pradesh Estates (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act, 1948, the settlem…

Uttam filed a suit for partition of a property claiming a one‑eighth share as a coparcener, asserting that the land was ancestral. The trial court decreed in his favour, but the first appellate court reversed, holding that the grandfather’s death in 1973, leaving a widow (a Class I heir), invoked the proviso to Section…

Ram Nath Dewan executed a 1942 will granting his wife Satyawati a life estate in the Doctor's Lane house and directing that after her death the property go to his legal heirs. After Ram Nath's death, the son (first defendant) contested the will, claiming a later 1950 will, and the parties litigated until a 1955 settlem…

The respondents, daughters of Doddahanumegowda, filed a suit seeking exclusive possession of his coparcenary property, asserting that as the sole surviving coparcener D could bequeath the entire estate to them. The appellants, daughters of D’s predeceased son Chikhanumegowda, claimed a right to a share under the Hindu …

The case concerned the share of Derha Ram, son of Kesar Bai, in Mitakshara coparcenary property of his grandfather Phannuram Sahu who died in 1959. Kesar Bai had filed a partition suit claiming her ancestral share; after her death, Derha succeeded to her estate. The trial court awarded Derha a one‑third share, but the …

The appeal concerned the inheritance rights of children born of void or voidable Hindu marriages who are legitimated under Section 16(1) or 16(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The central issue was whether such children are entitled to a share in the ancestral or coparcenary property of their parents, or only to the…

The appellant, Arshnoor Singh, is the great‑grandson of Lal Singh whose agricultural land passed to his son Inder Singh in 1951, before the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. The property was partitioned among Inder Singh’s three sons in 1964, and the share allotted to Dharam Singh (the appellant’s father) remained coparcenar…

The suit concerned a partition of land and houses belonging to the late Dajiba, claimed by his four daughters and his wife Darubai. The daughters sought a 4/5 share, while Darubai, as the original defendant, argued she could sell part of the property as karta of the family under the doctrine of legal necessity. The low…

Kalawati, a daughter of a Hindu widow, claimed ownership of the entire estate inherited by her mother from her husband, asserting that a 1954 gift deed transferring the property to her was valid and that she had become an absolute owner under section 14 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. Soiryabai, the other daughter, …

The case concerned a Will dated 15 April 1968 in which Tulsi Ram bequeathed half of his self‑acquired property to his second wife, Ram Devi, as a limited life interest, with the remainder to pass to his son, Jogi Ram, after her death. The question was whether Ram Devi’s interest became an absolute ownership under Secti…

Gurulingappa Savadi died in 2001 leaving a widow, two sons and two daughters (the appellants). A partition suit was filed in 2002 by one son, Amar, seeking a share of the joint family property. The trial court (decree 2007) and the Karnataka High Court denied the daughters any share, holding they were not coparceners b…

Bhulabhai Bhikhabhai, the Karta of a joint Hindu family, died intestate in 1947 leaving a widow, two sons and two daughters. When the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulations) Act, 1976 came into force, only the surviving son, Balubhai, filed a declaration under Section 6(1) claiming the entire land; the daughters made no c…

The appellant, an adopted son, claimed entitlement to half of his adoptive mother's joint family property and challenged two alienations— a sale deed (2007) and a gift deed (2008) executed by the adoptive mother after his adoption. The dispute hinged on whether the adoption of a widow’s son relates back to the husband'…