Grandfather's property does not automatically become the grandson's, as the Supreme Court has drawn a sharp line between ancestral property and separate property and held that a grandson has no birthright in property devolved on his father through the partition of his grandfather's estate.
A bench of Justices Augustine George Masih and Sunita Agarwal delivered the ruling while dismissing an appeal by a minor son who claimed a half share in a 1,811 sq ft property in Chennai.
The property belonged to his grandfather, late N Ramakrishnan. After the grandfather died, his son and daughter partitioned it through a compromise decree in a 1993 suit filed by the sister. In 1994, the partition was finalised. Each heir became the exclusive owner of his or her share.
The father got his share and sold it. The son challenged the sale, claiming a half share as a coparcener by birth.
The Supreme Court rejected the claim. It held that once the grandfather's property devolved on his heirs under Section 8 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, and was partitioned, the share allotted to the father became his exclusive property in his individual capacity.
It is to be noted that, as per Hindu law, there are two types of property: ancestral or coparcenary property, in which a son gets a right by birth. The father is only a manager. He cannot sell it without consent, except for legal necessity.
Separate or self-acquired property is that in which a son has no right by birth. The father is the absolute owner. He can sell, gift, mortgage or will it to anyone.
The Court held that the property in this case was of the second type. It came to the father by succession under Section 8, not by survivorship as a coparcener. Under Section 8, heirs take property in their individual capacities as absolute owners. The partition only divided that absolute ownership.
Therefore, the father's share was his separate property. The grandson had no birthright. He could not claim a half share. He could not stop the sale.
The Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the lower courts' decisions.
The ruling also gives certainty to buyers. If you buy from a father who is the absolute owner of property inherited under Section 8, your title is safe. A grandson cannot reopen the sale years later.
