Vs.

Judges: DR. A.S. ANAND & V.N. KHARE, JJ.

Date of Judgment: Jul 14, 1998

Hindu Succession Act, 1956

Section 14 (1) and 14(2) – Absolute property of Hindu widow – Limited interest of Hindu widow- How and when enlarged into absolute right – Distinction between sub-section (1) and sub-section (2) – Will by Hindu male, bequeathing ownership property to son of his daughter – Wife given absolute right of ownership during life time – Litigation against widow and her grandson ending into compromise sometimes in August, 1947, recognising “ownership and possession” of widow in her life time – Expression “full control …. as owners” in the Will – Construction – Wheth-er Section 14(2) applies. Held that in this case Section 14(2) had no application. The widow was absolute owner even prior to coming into force of the Act, of 1956. Even if she had limited interest, it ripened into absolute estate after the Act of 1956 under Section 14 (1)

It is by force of Section 14(1) of the Act, that the widow’s limited interest gets automatically enlarged into an absolute right notwithstanding any restriction placed under the document or the instrument. So far as sub-section (2) of Section 14 is concerned, it applies to instruments, decrees, awards, gifts etc., which create an independent or a new title in favour of the female for the first time. It has no application to cases where the instrument/document either declares or recognises or confirms her share in the property or her “pre-existing right to main-tenance” out of that property. (Para 25)

It is an admitted case of the parties that Smt. Janak Dulari had the “possession and control” of the suit property after the death of her husband and in terms of the Will that right and control was by virtue of the recognition of her “owner-ship” of the suit property. Even if it be assumed for the sake of argument, (though the intention of the testator was clearly otherwise) that the “right” which Smt. Janak Dulari had under the Will, was to remain in possession of the property during her life time only and enjoy the property as well as its usufruct only during her life time, her limited estate ripened into full owner-ship by virtue of the coming into force of the Hindu Succession Act.(Para 29)

The use of the expression “till myself along with my wife are alive we shall have full control over all our property mov-able and immovable” as owners unmistakably shows that the rights which Smt. Janak Dulari was declared to possess during her life time were the same as those of the testator himself and that she was to remain in “full control over all the property movable and immovable” during her life time as an owner of the property. After the death of her husband, she continued to remain in pos-session of the suit property as its owner and she had full right and control over the same. (Para 29)

The ‘Will’ declared and the Compromise Decree recognised the right of Smt. Janak Dulari as an “owner in possession” of the suit property with all the “rights and control” over it. The compromise decree did not create any independent or new title in her favour for the first time. Sub-section (2) of Section 14, thus has no application to her case. By virtue of sub-section (1) of Section 14, the limited interest (even if it be assumed for the sake of argument that Smt.Janak Dulari had only a limited interest in the property of which she was in possession as an owner) automatically got enlarged into an absolute one, her case was clearly covered by Section 14(1) of the Act. (Para 31)