Holding

A Hindu widow who regains possession of a property through reconveyance after the commencement of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 becomes an absolute owner under Section 14(1).

Summary

The case concerned a Hindu widow who had inherited a limited estate from her deceased husband before the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 and had transferred the property to an alienee. After the Act came into force, the alienee reconveyed the property to her, restoring her possession. The appellant argued that the widow could only claim a limited interest under Section 14(1) because the original transferee could not convey a higher title than he possessed. The Supreme Court held that Section 14(1) converts any property possessed by a Hindu female, whether acquired before or after the Act, into full ownership, and that the reconveyance restored her to the position she would have had if she had never alienated the property. Consequently, the widow became an absolute owner of the property. The appeal was dismissed.

Issues considered

Whether Section 14(1) of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 applies to a property reconveyed to a Hindu widow after the Act's commencement.
Whether the widow's limited estate matures into full ownership upon reconveyance despite the prior alienation.
Whether possession at the time of the Act's commencement is a prerequisite for full ownership.

Legislation cited

Hindu Succession Act, 1956s. 14(1), s. 4

Subjects

Hindu Succession ActSection 14(1)widow's estatelimited ownershipfull ownershipreconveyanceproperty lawHindu lawinheritance

Judgment

JAGANNATHAN PILLAI
A v.
KUNJITHAPADAM PILLAI & ORS.

APRIL 21, 1987.

B [M.P. THAKKAR AND B.C. RAY, JJ.)

'Hindu Succession Act, 1956: S. 14(1)-Hindu widow regainspos-
session of property subsequent to commencement of Act-Nature of her y
right or interest-Whether full or limited owner.

C · . ' Section14(1) orthe Hindu Succession Act, 1956 provides that any
property possessed by a female Hindu, whether acquired before or after
the commencement of the Act shall be held by her as full owner thereof
· and not as a limited owner. The Expl~nation to the sub-section induded
property acquired by a female Hindu by purchase within the expression
'property.'
D
The Hindu widow, In the instant case, who bad acquired a limited
estate from her husband by reason of his death was not In possession on
the date of the enforcement of the Act, she having transferred the
property in favour of an alienee. But, later the possession was restored
to her upon the original alienee reconveying the property to her, revers-
E Ing the transaction. Her right to the said property was assailed by the
appellant before the Madras High Court and a question arose as to
whether upon the reconveyance or the very 'property, which she had
, alienated, after the enforcement of the Act she would become full owner
In respect ofsuch a property by virtue of s. 14(1) of the Act.

F ' The High Court following Its earlier ·view In Chinnakolandai ·I
''· Goun41:n v. Thanji Gounder, (ILR 1966 I Madras 326) and that of
'· Punjab High Court 1.n Teja Singh v. Jagat Singh, (AIR 1964 Punjab
403), Bombay High Court in Ramgowda Aunagowda v. Bhausaheb,
(ILR 52 Bom. 1) and Gujarat High Court in Champa v. Chandrakant
(Am 1973 Gujarat 227), held that she would become an absolute owner
G or such a property In the aforesaid situation.

In this appeal by certificate, it was contended for the appellant,
relying on the view pronounced by the Orissa High Court in Ganesh
'-c.. Mahanta v. Sukria Bewa, (AIR 1963 Orissa 167) and Andhra Pradesh
· / High Court In Medicherla Venkataratnam v. Siddani Palamma, 1970
H II Andhra Weekly Reporter 264), thats. 14(1) of the Act does not come
1070

- ----- ------~
JAGANNATHAN v. KUNJITHAPADAM 1071

Into play in the case of a retfansfer of the property to the widow suhse-
A
qnent to the commeneement of the Act, as the transferee or the donee.
1 who had only a limited interest, cannot transfer a title higher than the
title that they themselves had in the property.

Dismissing the appeal, the court,
B
HELD: 1. A Hindu woman is entitled to become an absolute
owner of the prop~!1y which she had alienated, upon its reconveyance
-'"1 to her by the transferee after the enforcement of the Hindu Succession
Act, 1956 by virtue ofs. 14(1). [1082G; 1075B]
-l 2.1 The whole purpose of s. 14(1) is to make a widow who has a
limited interest a full owner In respect of the property in question
c
regardless of whether the acquisition was prior to or subsequent to the
~: commencement of the Act. It comes into operation at the point of time
when the right of the Hindu widow to the pr9perty is called into ques·
tion. All that has to be shown by her Jhen is that she had acquired the
property B!ld that she was possessed of the property. Once it is shown D
by her that she was p11ssessed of the property on that date in the eyes of
law the property held by her would be held by her as "full owner" and
not as limited owner. [1079G; 1075GH; 1077BC]

..¥ 2.2 Possession, physical or constructive or in legal sense, on the
date of coming into operation of the Act is not the &ine-qua-non for the E
- acqnisitio11 of full ownership in property by the Hindu female. The
expression "possessed of'' used in s. 14(1) pertains to the acquisition of
a right or interest in the property and not to physical possession
·+- acquired by force or without any legal right. The expression "whether
acquired before or after the commencement of the Act" used ins. 14(1)
makes it evident that any property possessed by a Hindu female whether F
't acquired before or after the commencement of the Act, would he held by
her as a full owner thereof and not as a limited owner. H the legislature had
not contemplated a Hindu widow becoming possessed of a property by
virtue of an acquisition after the commencement of the Act the aforesaid
expression would not have been used. [1076FG; Ul81C; 1076CD; 1081AB]
G
. ""{ 2.3 When the Hindu female in the instant case bought the pro·
perty from the alienee to whom she had sold it prior to the enforcement
of the Act, she had acquired the property within the meaning of the
explanation to s. 14(1) of the Act. The transaction by which the vendee of
the Hindu female had acquired an interest in the said property was
reversed and she was restored to the position prevailing before the H
\

1072 SUPREME COURT REPORTS 0987J ~ ~.C.&.

A transaction took place. In the eyes of law the transaction stood
obliterated or effaced. Thus, on the date on which her right to the
property was called into question, she was possessed of the property
which she bad inherited from her husband, she having by then re·
acquired and regained what she had lost, and her limited right had
matured into a full ownmhlp in view of s. 14(1) of the Act. [1077C, EF; 1078C)
8
3. By the reversal of the transaction Q!1 right of the reversioner
was affected, for be bad merely a spes su"'ssl!lllis .In. t,h~ property and
nothing more. His possible chance of sllCCeeding l!PQll ti!,~ ~!!PI ,of the
Hindu female disappeared from the horizon as soon as wli@!: $1!!l !f.l!!I
temporarily parted with was restored to her. Therefore, whl!tller I! .i..-
\
C challenge was made during her life-time or it was made after her dealb,
if the question arose as to what was the nature of Interest In the pro-
perty held by the concerned Hindu female after the reversal of the
transaction the answer would be that she had a 'full ownership' and not
a 'limited ownership'. [1078DE; l077H·1078A]
D
4. If the transferee from the concernec! Hl11du female had trans·
ferred his right, title and interest In the property w a third person
instead of transferring it· back to her, the prlociple th!d ~ transferor
cannot transmit a better title or a title higher than that ~ J!1 lllPt
at the given time would have come into play. Not otherwllie, 'file tfl!J!S•
E action having been reversed the Hindu widow became re•possefsed or
the property which she had possessed prior to the transfer to the ori11I•
nal alienee or the donee and her right straightaway matured Into full
ownership by virtue ofs. 14(1), [1078B; 1079DE] · · · · ·

5. The case of the widow who had temporarily lost the right in the ).·' ·:.
. ""\.
F property by virtue of the transfer in favour of the alienee or the donee
cannot be equated with that of a stranger. The Act is intended to benefit
her. And when she becomes possessed of the property, having regained
precisely that interest which she had temporarily lost during the dura·
tion of the eclipse, s. 14(1) would come to her rescue which would not be
the matter In the case of a stranger who cannot invoke s. 14(1). [1080FI
G
Kotturuswamy v. Veeravva, (AIR 1959 S.C. 577) distinguished.

Chinnakolandai Goundan v. Thanji Gounder, (ILR 1966 I
Madras 326); Teja Singh v. Jagat Singh, (AIR 1964 Punjab 403);
Ramgowda Aunagowda v. Bhausaheb, (ILR 52 Born. 1) and Champa
H v. Chandrakant, (AIR 1973 Gujarat 227), approved.
JAGANNATHAN v. KUNJITHAPAOAM [THAKKAR, l.] 1073

Ganesh Mahanta. v. Sukria Bewa, (AIR 1963 Orissa 167) and
Medicherla Venkataratnam v. Siddani Palamma, (1970 II Andhra A
Weekly Reporter 264), overruled.

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 1196
of 1973.
B
From the Judgment and Decree dated 20.9.1971 of the Madras
High Court in Appeal No. 425 of 1964.

T,S. Krishnamoorthy Iyer, K. Ram Kumar and K. Ram Mohan
for the Appellant,

S.T. Desai, K. Ramamurthy and A.T.M. Sampath for Respon- c
~ 'dents No. 1and2.

Rajendra Chowdhary for the Respondent No. 3 to 5.

The Judgment of he Court was delivered by D

THAKKAR, J. Under the same law 1 in an identical fact-
situation, a Hindu widow who has inherited property in Orissa or
Anphra Pradesh woufd be a 'limited owner' and would not become an
'alJsolute owner' thereof whereas if she has inherited property in
Madras, Punjab, Bombay or Gujarat she would become an 'absolute E
owner'. That is to say, in a situation where a Hindu widow regains
possession of a property (in which ~he had a limited ownership) subse-
quent to the commencement of the Act 2 upon the retransfer of the very
same property to her by the transferee in whose favour she had trans-
ferred it prior to the commencement, of the Act. This incongruous
situation has arisen because of an interpretation and application of F
Section 14( I)' of the Hindu Succession Act (Act) in the context of the
1. Section 14( 1) of Hindu Succession Act of 1956
2. The Act came into force on June 17, 1956.
3. "Section 14(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, G
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-maintenance or arrears of maintenance, or by gift from any person, whether a
relative or not, before, at or after her marriage, or by her own skill or exertion, or by·
purchase or by prescription, or in any other manner whatsoever, and also any sue~
property held by her as stridhana immediately before the commencement of this H
Act."
1074 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1987] 2 S.C.R.

A aforesaid fact-situation the High Courts of. Orissa 4 and Andhra
Pradesh' have proclaimed that she would be only a 'limited owner' of
such property on such retransfer whereas the High Courts of Madras',
Punjab 7 Bombay' and Gujarat' have taken a contrary view and have
pronounced that she would become an 'absolute owner' of such a
property in the aforesaid situation. We have therefore to undertake
B this exercise to remove the unaesthetic wrinkles from the face of law to
ensure that a Hindu widow has the same rights under the same law
regardless of the fact as to whether her property is situated within the ,.___
jurisdiction of one High Court or the other.
~
\
The appellant who unsuccessfully canvassed before the High
C· Court of Madras that the view propounded by the Orissa and Andhra
Pradesh High Courts deserved to be preferred to the view taken by the
other four High Courts, has approached this Court by way of the I ).-
present appeal by a certificate granted under Article 133(1)(a) of the
Constitution of India that the matter involves a substantial question of
D Jaw.

The typical facts in the backdrop of which the problem has to be
viewed are: -

(1) A Hindu female acquired a property, say by reason of the
death of her husband, before the commencement of the Act
E
(i.e. before June 17, 1956).

(2) What she acquired was a: widow's estate as understood in
-
shastric or traditional Hindu Law. -~-

(3) She lost the possession of the property on account of a trans-
F
action whereby she transferred the property in favour of an
alienee by a registered document of 'sale' or 'gift'.
4. Ganesh Mahanta v. Sukria Rewa (AIR 1963 Orissa 167).

5. Medicherla Venkataratnam v. Siddani Palamma, (1970 II Andhra Weekly Reporter
G 264).

6. Chinnakolandai Goundan v. Thanji Gounder, \ILR 1966 I Madras 326).

7. TtjaSinghv.JagatSingh, (AIR !964Punjab403).

8. Ramgowda Aunagowda v. Bhausaheb, (ILR 52 Born. I).

H 9. Champav. Chandra/cant, (AJR.!973 Gujarat 227).
JAGANNATHAN v. KUNJITHAPADAM (THAKKAR, J.J 1075

(4) The property in question was retransferred to her by the said A
•I'
alienee 'after' the enforcement of the Act by a registered
document thus restoring to the widow the interest (such as it
was) which she had parted with earlier by reversing the origi-
nal transaction.

It is in this factual background that the question will have to be B
examined as to whether upon the reconveyance of the very property
which she had alienated after enforcement of the Act, she would be-
come a full owner in respect of such a property by virtue of Section
14(1) of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (Act). Be it realized that the
law has been settled by this Court that the limited estate or limited
ownership of a Hindu female would enlarge into an absolute estate or C
full ownership of the property in questio11 in t!ie folJowil)g fa~t
situation:

1. Where she acquired the limite<! estate in the property before
or after the commencement of the Ac! provjped she was in
possession of the property at the time of the cmning into force D
of the Act on June 17, 1956.

2. Even if the property in question was possessed by her in lieu
of her right to maintenance as against the estate of her
deceased husband or the joint family property, she would be
entitled to become a full or absolute owner having regard to E
the fact that the origin of her right was traceable 10 the right
against her husband's estate.

+-' The problem which has arisen in the present appeal is in the
context of a fact-situation where while the widow acquired a limited
estate from her husband she was not in possession on the date of the F
enforcement of the Act viz. June 17, 1956. But the possession was
restored to her upon the original alienee reconveying the property to
her.

On an analysis of Section 14( 1) of the Hindu Succession Act of
1956, it is evident that the Legislature has abolished the concept of G
limited ownership in respect of a Hindu female and has enacted that
any property possessed by her would thereafter be held by her as a full
owner. Section 14(1) would come into operation if the property at the
point of time when she has an occasion to claim or assert a title ·
thereto. Or, in other words, at t!ie point of time when her right to the
said property is called into question. The legal effect of Section 14( I) H
•
1076 SUPREME COURT REPORTS I1987] 2 S.C.R.
\
would be that after the coming into operation of the Act there would·
A t•
be no property in respect of which it COl!lq ~e COOten~e<J by anyon~
~
that a Hindu female is only a limited owner and 1101 a full owner. (We
are for the moment not concerned with the fact that sub-section (2) of
section 14 which provides that Section H(l) will 11ot prevent creating a
restricted estate in favour.of a Hindu female either by gift or will or.
,B any instrument or decree of a Civil Court or award provided the very
document creating title unto jler confers a restricted estate on her).
There is nothing in Section 14 which supports the proposition that a >--
(

Hindu female should be in actual physical possession or-in constructive
possession of any property on the date of the coming into operation of .l>.
~

the Act. The expression 'possessed' has been used in the sense of
having a right to the property or control over the property. The expre·
c ssion 'any property possessed by a Hindu female whether acquirecj
before or after the commencement of the Act' on ~n a,i;1~lysis yields to ).-
the following interpretation:

(l) Any property possessed by a Hindll female acqyired before
D the commencement of the Act will be flelcj by lier as a full
owner thereof and not as a limited owner.

(2) Any property possessed by a Hindu female acquired after the
commencement of the Act will be .held as a full owner there·
of and not as a limited owner. 'f
E
Since the Act in terms applies even to properties possessed by a Hindu
female which are acquired 'after' the.commencemen\ of the Act, it is
-
futile to contend that the Hindu female shall be in 'pnssession' of the
property 'before' the commencement of the Act. If the property itself -~ ....
is acquired 'after' the commencement of the Act, there cou!<l be no
F question of the property being either i11 physical or constructive pos· ¥
session of the Hindu female 'before' (he c01ni11g into operation of the
Act. There is, therefore, no escape from \!1e conQlusion that posses-
sion, physical or constructive or in a le11al sens~. on the date of the
coming into opera!ion of the Act is not the sine-qua-non for the
acquisition of full ownership in property. In fact, the intention of the
G Legislature was to do away with the concept 9f limit~g ownership in
respect of the property owned by a Hindu female altogether. Section 4 y
of the Act (it needs to be emphasized) provides that any text, rule or
interpretation of Hindu Law or custom or \!Sage as part of that law in
force immediately before the commencemelll of this Act, shall cease to
have effect with respect to any matter for which provision is made in
H the Act. The legislative intent is therefore, abundantly loud and clear.
JAGANNATHAN v. KUNJJTHAPADAM [THAKKAR, J.) 1077

To era~e the injustice and remove the legal shackles by abolishing the A
cpncept of limited estate, or the women's or widow's estate once and
~' for all. To obviate hair-splitting, the Legislature has made it abun-
dantly ~)ear !flat whatever be the property possessed by a Hindu
female, it will be of absolute ownership and not of limited ownership
notwithstanding the position obtaining under the traditional Hindu
law. Once it is shown that at the point of time when the question B
regarding title to property held by a Hindu female arises, she was
_,.., 'possessed' of the. property on that date, in the eye of law, the property
held by her would be held by her as 'full owner' and not as 'limited

-l owner'. In other words, all that has to be shown by her is that she had
acquired the property and that she was 'possessed' of the property at
the point of time when her title was called into question. When she c
bought the property from the alienee to whom she had sold the pro-
p!!riy prior to the enforcement of the Act, she 'acquired' the property
~ within tile meaning of the explanation to Section 14( 1) of the Act. The
right th&! the priginal alienee had to ))old the property as owner (sub-
ject to his right being questioned by the reversioner op the death of the
female Hindu from whom l!e had purchased the property) was re- D
stored to her when she got back the right that she had parted with.
Whatever she had lost 'earlier', was 'now' regained by her by virtue of
the transaction. The status-quo-ante was restored in respect of her
interest in the said property. In the eye of law, therefore, the transac-
~- lion by which the vendee of the Hindu female acquired an interest in
th@ S!li!i property was 'reversed' and the Hindu female was restored to E
.,_ the pqsition prevailing before the transaction took place. In other
wprgs, ii) !IJe eye of Jaw the transaction stood obliterated or effaced.
Wh11t was 'doqe' by virtue of the document executed in favour of the
.~L trnnsferee was 'undone'. Such would be the consequence of a re-
transfer by the aliene~ in favpur of a Hindu female from whom he had
acquired an interest in the property in qµestion. Thus on the date on F
~ which her right to the property was ~ailed into question, she was '.pos-
sessed' of the property which she had inherited from her husband she
having by then re,µcquired and regained what she had lost. And by
virtue of the operation of Section 14(1) of the Act the limitation which
previously inhered in respect of the property disappeared upon the
coming into operation of t!ie Act. It is no longer open to anyone now G
to contend that she hac! only a 'limited' ownership in the said property
1 and not a 'full' ownership, the concept of limited ownership having
been abolished altogether, with effect from the coming into operation
of the Act.

Whether a challenge was made during her lifetime or it was made H
1078 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1987] 2 S.C.R.

after her death, if the question arose as to what was the nature of
A
interestin the property held by the concerned Hindu female after the
reversal of the transaction the answer would be that she had a 'full' ~
ownership and not a 'limited' ownership. It would have been a diffe-
I
I rent matter if the transferee from the concerned Hindu female had
'
transferred his right, title and interest in the property to a third person
B instead of transferring it back to her. In that event the principle that
the transferor cannot transmit a better title or a title higher than that
possessed by the transferor at the given time would. come into play. t-,
Not otherwise. When the transaction was reversed and what belonged
to her was retransmitted to her, what the concerned Hindu female
,~
~

acquired was a right which she herself once possessed namely, a
limited ownership (as it was known prior to the coming into force of
c the Act) which immediately matures into or enlarges into a full owner-
ship in view of Section 14(1) of the Act on the enforcement of the Act.
The resultant position on the reversal of the transaction would be that
,..
the right, title and interest that the alienee had in the property which
was under 'eclipse' during the subsistence of the transaction had re-
D emerged on the disappearance of the eclipse. In other words, the right
which was under slumber came to be awakened as soon as the sleep
induced by the transaction came to an end. By the reversal of the
transaction no right of the reversioner was affected, for he had merely
a spes successionis in the property and nothing more. His possible
chance of succeeding upon the death of the Hindu female disappeared 'f
E from the horizon as soon as what she had temporarily parted with was
restored to her. ~

The proponents of the view canvassed by the appellant placed I

p
strong reliance on the decision rendered by a learned Single Judge of
the Orissa High Court in Ganesh Mahanta v. Sukria Bewa, A.LR.
1963 Orissa 167 ano the decision of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in
-·
.'.y
Medicherla Venkataratnam v. Siddani Palamma and Ors., A.W.R.
1970(2) 264 wherein the Andhra Pradesh High Court has concurred
with the view of the Orissa High Court. The basis of the reasoning is
reflected in the following passage from Ganesh Mahanta's case:

G "Section 14( 1) does not purport to enlarge the right, title or
interest of the alienee from widow with regard to the trans- ,..,.
fers effected prior to the commencement of the Act. A
donee from the widow prior to the commencement of the
Act acquires only a widow's estate in the gifted property
and even if the donee retransfers the property in favour of
H the widow after the commencement of the Act, the widow

,...
JAGANNATHAN v. KUNJITHAPADAM (THAKKAR, J.) 1079

would acquire only a limited interest and not an absolute A
i interest in the property as the donee cannot transmit any
title higher thati what he himself had."

It appears that the Orissa and the Andhra Pradesh High Courts have
been carried away by the argument that the donee or the transferee
who retransfers ilie property to the widow cannot transmit a title B
.,-.\ higher than !lie title that they themselves had in the property. In
substance, the argument is that as the transferee or the donee had only
a limited interest, what he can transmit to the widow is a limited
~

f interest. This argument postulates that Section 14(1) of the Act does
not come irlto play in the case of a retransfer (by the donee or the
transferee as the case may be); to the widow subsequent to the comm- c
encement of the Act. There is a basic fallacy in proceeding on the
i assumption that Section 14(1) has no impact or that the provision has
no role to play in case of such a retransfer. This line of reasoning
overlooks the fat! that upon re transfer to the widow, the original
transaction is obliterated and what transpired by virtue of the consequ-
ence of the otiginai transfer stands reversed. The resultant position is D
that the widow is restored to the original position. Section 14(1) would
not be attracted if the widow was not possessed of the property after
the coming into force of the Act. But in view of the reversal of the
~- transaction, the widow becomes possessed of the property which she
had possessed prior to the transfer to the original alienee or the donee.
~ And Section 14( 1) straightaway comes into play. By virtue of the rever- E
sal of the original trans11ction, her rights would have to be ascertained
as if she became possessed of the property for the first time, after the
,i. commencement of the Act. It is now well settled that even if the widow
has acquired the interest in the property and is possessed of the pro-
perty after the commencement of the Act, her limited right would
~ ripen or mature into an absolute interest or full ownership. The ques- F
tion that has to be asked is as to whether the widow became possessed
of the property by virtue of the acquisition of i!'terest subsequent to
the operation of the Act and whether such interest was a limited in-
terest. The whole purpose of Section 14(1) is to make a widow who has
a limited interest a full owner in respect of the property in question
regardless of whether the acquisition was prior to or subsequent to the G
-'1 commencement of the Act. On the date on which the retransfer took
place, she became possessed of the property. She became possessed
thereof subsequent to the commencement of the Act. In the result her
limited interest therein would enlarge into an absolute interest, for,
after the commencement of the Act any property possessed of and
held by a widow becomes a property in which she has absolute interest H
1080 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1987] 2 S.C.R.

A and not a limited interest, ihe concept of limited interest having been
abolished by Section 14(1) with effect from the commencement of the
Act. The Orissa High Court and the Andhra Pradesh High Court have
fallen in error in testing the matter from the stand point of the alienee
or the donee who retransfers the property. The High Court posed the
question as to whether they would be entitled to full ownership in view
B of Sedion 14(1), instead of posing the question as to whether the
widow who becomes possessed of the property after the commence-
ment of the Act would be entitled to claim that her limited interest had
enlarged into an absolute interest. Of course, Section 14(1) is not
intended to benefit the alienee or the donee, but is intended and
designed to benefit the widow. But the question has to be examined
-
C from the perspective of the widow who becomes possessed of the
property by virtue of the acquisition pursuant to the retransfer. The
Andhra Pradesh High Court has also fallen in error in accepting the
fallacious argument that the widow would be in the position of a
stranger .to whom the property was reconveyed or retransferred. This
fallacy is reflected in the following passage:
D
" .... Therefore reconveyance will not revive her original
right in the property and she will be holding the, estate
reconveyed just like any other stranger alienee, for the
lifetime of the alien or widow, though she happens to be 'i-
that widow, and there can be no question of one alienation ·
E cancelling the other and the status-quo-ante, the widow's -
alienation being restored."

The case of the widow who had temporarily lost the right in the pro- -~ ·
perty by virtue of the transfer in favour of the alienee or the donee can
. not be equated with that of a stranger by forgetting the realities of the
F situation. Sureiy, the Act was intended to benefit her. And when the r-
widow becomes possessed of the property, having regained precisely
that interest which she had temporarily lost during the duration of the
eclipse, Section 14(1) would come to her rescue which would not be
the matter in the case of a stranger who cannot invoke Section' 14(1). A
further error was committed in proceeding on the mistaken assump-
G tion that the decision in Kotturuswamy v. Veeravva, A.LR. 1959 S.C.
577 supported the point of view which found favour with the Orissa
and the Andhra Pradesh High Courts. In Kotturuswamy's case the
alienation had taken place before the commencement of the Act and
the widow had 'trespassed' on the property and had obtained physical
possession as·a trespasser without any title. It was not a case where the
H widow had regained possession lawfully and become entitled to claim
JAGANNATHAN v. KUNJITHAPADAM (THAKKAR, J.J 1081

the benefit of Section 14(1) having become possessed of the property A
/ by way of a lawful acquisition subsequent to the commencement of the
Act. It was ovetlooked that Section 14(1) in terms used the expression
"whether acquired before or after the commencement of the Act". If
the legislature had not contemplated a widow becoming possessed of a
property by virtue of an acquisition after the commencement of the
Act, the aforesaid expression would not have been used by the legisla- B
ture. The Orissa and the Andhra Pradesh High Courts have failed to
give effect to these crucial words and have also failed to apply the
principle in Kotrurnswamy's case properly, wherein' 'the widow
obtained possession as a trespasser. In fact the expression "possessed
of' pertains to the acquisition of a right or interest in the property and
not to physical possession acquired by force or without any legal right. C
The ratio in Kotrurnswami's case was therefore misunderstood and
misconceived by the Orissa and the Andhra Pradesh High Courts. We
agite with the reasoning of the Madras High Court in Chinnakolandai
v. Thanji, (1965) 2 M.L.J. 247: A.I.R. 1965 Mad. 497, wherein
Ramamurthi, J. has made the point in a very lucid manner in the
following p~ssage: D

"With respect, I am unable to agree with this view, as the
entire reasoning is based upon the view that· there is no
difference between a reconveyance in favour of the widow
herself and alienation in favour of the stranger. In my opi-
nion, there is all the difference between a case of annul- E
ment of a conveyance by consent of both the parties and a
case of a subsequent alienation by the alienee in favour of a
stranger. In the former case the effect of the alienation is
completely wiped out and the original position is restored.
This ~istinction has not been noticed in the decision of the
Orissa High Court. The acceptance of the contention urged F
by learned counsel for the appellant would lead to startling
results. Take for instance an un-authorised alienation by a
guardian. If some cloud is cast on the validity of the aliena-
tion, and if the alienee, not willing to take any risk till the
attainment of majority by the minor, conveys back the pro-
perty to the guardian, it would not be open to the guardian G
to contend that he had acquired the voidable title of the
alienee. In other words, he cannot contend as·against the
quondam minor that the income from the property would
· be his, and that till the minor takes proceedings for setting
aside the alienation the guardian should be deemed to have
acquired the right, title and interest of the alienee. Such a H
1082 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1987) 2 S.C.R.

A · contention on the face of it is untenable.

The instance of an alienation by a trustee or an ex- '\
ecutor may also be considered. If after the alienation by the
·trustee or executor the beneficiary raises some objection
.' aboct the validity of the alienation whether well founded or
B
ill fo:.11Jed and if the alienee who is not prepared to take
any risk conveys back the property to the trustee or the
executor as the case may be it cannot possibly be contended . )<:.
that the trustee or the executor got back the property in
any right or character other than in which it was originally
alienated. As a result of the reconveyance the property
c would form part of the trust estate. In all these cases the

---
alienor suffers under a legal disability from holding the
property in any other capacity. It is needless to multiply
instances. I am therefore clearly of the opinion that there is
nothing in law to prevent an alienation being completely
nullified as if it never took effect provided the alienor and
D I the alienee agree to such a course. The position is a fortiori

! where the title conveyed to the alienee is a voidable one. It
cannot be disputed that ·when the reversioner files the suit
it is open to the alienee to submit to a decree. After such a
declaratory decree is passed, there is nothing in Hindu law
which compels or obliges the alienee to retain and keep the
E property himself and hand it over to the reversioner. It is
certainly open to him to respect the decree and convey
back the property to the widow even before her death. It is
obvious that what the alienee can do after the termination
of the suit cari equally be done during its pendency. Surely .
' the alienee is not a trustee for the reversioner to keep the
F property in trust and deliver the property on the death of
'
' the widow."
'·
Our own reasons we have already articulated. The reasoning
unfolded in the foregoing passage, we fully and wholeheartedly
G endorse. In the result we uphold the view that irr such circumstances
'the concerned Hindu woman is entitled to become an absolute owner
of the property in question.
I
The appeal fails and is dismissed. No costs.

H . P.S.S. Appeal dismissed.