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Renikuntla Rajamma v. K. Sarwanamma

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 4195 of 2008)Decided 17 Jul 2014
Civil Appeal No. 4195 of 2008
Justice T.S. Thakur · Justice V. Gopala Gowda · Justice C. Nagappan

Background

A woman executed a registered gift deed transferring property but reserved her right to use it and receive its income during her lifetime. She later attempted to revoke the gift. The courts below found that the recipient had accepted it and rejected her allegations of fraud and undue influence; the remaining question was whether keeping lifetime enjoyment made the gift invalid.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the finding that the revocation was ineffective. Under Sections 122 and 123 of the Transfer of Property Act, a gift of immovable property made by a properly signed, attested and registered instrument must be accepted during the donor's lifetime, but physical delivery of possession is not an additional requirement. The deed in this case transferred ownership immediately while retaining only lifetime use and income for the donor. An earlier case involving an unaccepted, conditional gift was distinguishable and did not establish a general possession requirement. The donor's retained enjoyment therefore did not undo this completed gift.

Lesson Learnt

A properly completed property gift can transfer ownership while allowing the donor to live there or receive rent for life. Those retained rights do not by themselves let the donor cancel the gift; the deed's wording and acceptance matter.

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

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