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S. Sarojini Amma v. Velayudhan Pillai Sreekumar

Civil Appeal · 2018 INSC 1005Decided 26 Oct 2018
Civil Appeal No. 10785 of 2018
Justice Arun Mishra · Justice Indira Banerjee

Background

A childless 74-year-old widow had executed a document styled as a "gift deed" in favour of her nephew, expecting him to look after her and her husband, but the deed said the gift would take effect only after her and her husband's deaths and was partly for consideration. She later executed a cancellation deed revoking the gift, leading to cross-suits between her and her nephew that went through the trial court, first appeal, and a second appeal in the Kerala High Court, which ultimately ruled in the nephew's favour.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that a valid, completed gift under Section 122 of the Transfer of Property Act requires a transfer without consideration that takes effect during the donor's lifetime; here, the deed was executed for part consideration and was expressly conditional on the donee looking after the donor, with the transfer itself deferred until after the donor's and her husband's deaths. Since these conditions were never fulfilled, the Court held there was no completed gift, meaning the donor retained the right to cancel it, and the High Court's judgment upholding the gift could not stand. The appeal was allowed and the High Court's order set aside.

Lesson Learnt

A document merely labelled a "gift deed" is not automatically a valid gift: if it is conditional, given for consideration, or is meant to take effect only after the donor's death, courts may treat it as incomplete or more like a will, and the donor can cancel it.

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

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