The Bombay High Court has held that if the female hindu who has inherited the property from her parents has died childless then her property will be distributed among the heirs of her father and not among the heirs of her husband as per Section 15 of the Hindu Succession Act.
The above was held during the hearing of writ petition by the Justice Shalini Phansalkar Joshi. The writ petition was filed by the relatives of deceased Sundarabai. Sundarabai died without having child of her own on June 18, 1962, i.e, 45 years ago.
The petition was filed against the order dated November 28, 2016, passed by the joint civil judge of junior division, pune. The civil judge ordered that the deceased’s husband plea of inheritance of property upon his heirs is maintainable. The original case was filed by the deceased’s husband for declaration, partition, and injunction in regard to the property belonging to the deceased.
Before the trial court of the pune, the present petitioners submitted that the husband of deceased Sundarabai and his children have no claim in her property as the children are her stepchildren which are born out of wedlock of deceased’s husband with his second wife.
The trial court i.e., pune court accepting the half submission made by the present petitioner stated that the stepchildren do not have any right to inherit the property but the husband’s claim in the property was allowed.
Thus, against this order of the pune court, a review was sought by the present petitioners who are deceased Sundarabai’s relatives.
It has been submitted by the petitioners before the Bombay High Court that as per the Section 15(2)(a) of Hindu Succession Act even the husband cannot claim the right in the property.
Thus, on the examination of the Section 15(2)(a) of the act, the court held that the section specifically states that if a female hindu dies issueless i.e., without having her own children then her property which has been inherited by her from her parents will be succeeded upon the heirs of her father. Thus, the section excludes husband as an heir to inheriting the property of the deceased wife who has died childless.
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