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Mahinder v. Puran Singh

Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 698Decided 14 Jul 2026
C.A. No.-008978-008978 - 2026 (@ SLP(C) No.29289 of 2025)
Justice Sanjay Karol · Justice Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh

Background

Siblings inherited agricultural land from their father as Class-I legal heirs. Some of the siblings sold their shares to a third party without first offering it to their co-heirs, prompting one sibling to sue under Section 22 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, which gives co-heirs a preferential right to buy out a sibling's share before it goes to an outsider. The defendants argued Section 22 could not apply to agricultural land at all, relying on an old Constitution Bench ruling (Atam Prakash) that had struck down a similar pre-emption right under Punjab law as unconstitutional. The trial court agreed with the defendants and dismissed the suit, but the First Appellate Court and High Court disagreed and ruled that Section 22 did apply.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the Atam Prakash ruling only concerned a different, much broader "consanguinity"-based pre-emption right under Punjab law (which extended to distant relatives, tenants, and even non-family members) and was struck down because of that ruling's specific, illogical scheme - not because pre-emption itself is unconstitutional. Section 22 of the Hindu Succession Act is narrower and applies only among Class-I co-heirs who inherited property together, making it fundamentally different in character. The Court also rejected the argument that Parliament lacked the constitutional power to enact Section 22 for agricultural land, holding that succession law (Entry 5, Concurrent List) squarely covers this, and the earlier decision in Babu Ram (holding Section 22 does apply to agricultural land) remains good law. The appeal was dismissed, and the sale was set aside in favour of the pre-emption claim.

Lesson Learnt

When siblings or other Class-I heirs inherit agricultural land together, none of them can freely sell their share to an outsider without first offering it to their co-heirs - the preferential right to buy under the Hindu Succession Act applies equally to agricultural and non-agricultural property.

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

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