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Jogi Ram vs. Suresh Kumar & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2022 INSC 131Decided 1 Feb 2022
Civil Appeal Nos. 1543-1544 of 2019
Sanjay Kishan Kaul · M.M. Sundresh

Background

Under a 1968 Will, one Tulsi Ram left his land half to his son (the appellant) absolutely, and half to his second wife Ram Devi only for her lifetime use, with the property reverting fully to the appellant after her death and an express bar on her transferring it. Ram Devi and her daughter nonetheless attempted, over decades of litigation, to convert this into full ownership: first via a collusive court decree, and later by Ram Devi selling parts of the land to several buyers (the respondents) while litigation was still pending. Courts repeatedly held in an earlier round of litigation (which went up to the Supreme Court) that Ram Devi had only a limited life interest, yet the Punjab & Haryana High Court in a later second appeal ruled in favour of the buyers, holding Ram Devi's interest had matured into absolute ownership under Section 14(1) of the Hindu Succession Act.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court reversed the High Court, holding that Section 14(2) of the Act, not Section 14(1), governed this case, because the Will granted Ram Devi a genuinely new and restricted interest (limited to her lifetime, with income for her maintenance) rather than merely recognising or confirming a pre-existing right to maintenance. Relying on its own precedent in V. Tulasamma, the Court explained that Section 14(1) enlarges a Hindu woman's limited estate into full ownership only when the instrument merely confirms a pre-existing right (like maintenance); where a will creates a genuinely new restricted title, as here, Section 14(2) applies and the limitation stands. The Court also held the High Court wrongly distinguished the binding earlier round of litigation (which had already conclusively held Ram Devi's interest was limited) and wrongly treated the respondent-purchasers as bona fide buyers, since they bought the land from Ram Devi during pending litigation that ultimately went against her. The buyers could not get better title than what Ram Devi herself had.

Lesson Learnt

A person who is given only a limited, lifetime interest in property under a Will (as opposed to property given to confirm an existing right like maintenance) cannot pass full ownership to a buyer: a purchaser can never acquire better title to property than what the seller actually possessed, especially when buying land that is still under active litigation.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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