Husband has no right over wife’s parental property after her death, rules High Court

Amaravati (The Uttam Hindu): In a significant ruling, the Andhra Pradesh High Court has clarified that a husband does not have any legal right over property inherited by his wife from her parental home. The court stated that if a Hindu woman inherits property from her parents and dies without leaving a will, her husband or in-laws cannot claim ownership of that property.

Who inherits if a childless woman dies?

While hearing the case, Justice Tarlada Rajasekhar Rao referred to Section 15(2)(a) of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. The court clarified that if a woman receives property from her parents and dies without children, the property will revert to her parental heirs. In such cases, the husband has no legal claim over that inherited property. The court ordered that the property must go back to the woman’s family.

What was the dispute about?

The case originated from a family property dispute. In 2002, an elderly woman gifted her property to her granddaughter. However, the granddaughter passed away in 2005 without having any children. After her death, the elderly woman transferred the property to another granddaughter.

Later, when the second granddaughter initiated legal procedures to claim the property, the revenue authority initially approved it. However, the deceased granddaughter’s husband challenged the decision and secured a favorable order at a lower level. This led the second granddaughter to approach the High Court.

Who did the court recognize as the rightful heir?

The High Court agreed with the petitioner’s argument that the husband had no legal right over the property since it originated from the woman’s maternal family and she had no children. The court also stated that the husband had no authority to question the validity of the original gift.

Setting aside the lower authority’s order, the High Court directed the concerned tehsildar to transfer the property to the petitioner (the second granddaughter).