The Andhra Pradesh High Court ruled on Monday, 30 March, that parental property inherited by a Hindu woman will revert to her father’s heirs — not her husband — if she dies without leaving a valid will, according to Live Law. The court clarified that such property will not pass to her husband or his heirs.
Referring to Section 15(2)(a) of Hindu Succession Act, Justice Tarlada Rajasekhar Rao held, “The bare reading of Section 15(2)(a) of Hindu Succession Act 1956 clearly outlines that if the property is inherited by a female Hindu from her father or mother in the absence of any of child, the property of the deceased shall go to the legal heirs of father.”
“The husband will not have any right over the property inherited by her from her father,” the court added.
The case involves a piece of land owned by a woman who had two granddaughters. In 2002, she gifted the property to her first granddaughter. However, after the granddaughter died in 2005, the woman cancelled the gift and took back the property. She later executed a registered will, bequeathing the same property to her second granddaughter, the petitioner in the case.
According to the Live Law report, after the grandmother’s death in 2012, the petitioner sought mutation of the property in her name. In 2017, the Revenue Divisional Officer cancelled the earlier entries, which included the first granddaughter’s name, and directed necessary changes.
However, the deceased granddaughter’s husband challenged the decision before the Revisional Authority–Joint Collector, which ruled in his favour.
The second granddaughter then approached the High Court, arguing that since her sister died without children, her husband had no right or title over the property.
The court held that the first granddaughter’s husband did not derive any title from his deceased wife.
It further observed: “… when the unofficial respondent is not entitled for the property pursuant to the Section 15(2)(a) of Hindu Succession Act 1956, the unofficial respondent is not entitled to claim over the property and in view of the same the gift deed executed by the original owner in favour of the wife of 5th unofficial respondent does not get any right over the property.”
The Andhra Pradesh High Court set aside the earlier order and directed the Tehsildar to update the revenue records, recognising the second granddaughter as the rightful owner.