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Sridhar & Anr. v. N. Revanna & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2020 INSC 165Decided 11 Feb 2020
Civil Appeal No. 1209 of 2020
Justice Ashok Bhushan · Justice Navin Sinha

Background

In 1957, a man gifted property to his grandson, N. Revanna, through two gift deeds that included a condition barring Revanna (and his younger brothers) from ever selling the property. Decades later, Revanna sold portions of the property to third parties. Revanna's own sons (the plaintiffs) sued, arguing the sale deeds were void because of the restraint condition in the gift deed, and claimed ownership of the property for themselves. The trial court dismissed the suit; the Karnataka High Court partly sided with the sons, awarding them only the sale proceeds Revanna had received, not the property itself.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that Section 10 of the Transfer of Property Act makes any absolute condition restraining a property owner from selling what they received as a gift legally void: such conditions cannot bind the recipient. Since the restraint clause in the 1957 gift deed was void, Revanna's later sale deeds were perfectly valid, and his sons had no legal basis to claim the property. The Court also rejected the argument that the gift was invalid under Section 13 (gifts to unborn persons), since the gift was made directly to Revanna, who was alive (though a minor) at the time. The High Court's judgment was set aside and the sons' suit was dismissed in full.

Lesson Learnt

A condition in a gift deed that completely forbids the recipient from ever selling the gifted property is not enforceable in Indian law, once a gift is validly made, the recipient gets full ownership rights, including the right to sell.

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

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