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May 2010

Ancestral property cannot be gifted away, says Bombay HC

By Raman Jokhakar
Tarunkumar G. Singhal
Chartered Accountants
Reading Time 1 mins
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No part of an ancestral family property can be ‘gifted’ away,
the Bombay High Court has held in a significant order while resolving the
dispute over a 69-year-old gift deed. Justice C. L. Pangarkar declared as void
the document dating back to 1941, which said that Miraj resident Mallapa had
gifted a portion of his ancestral property to his second wife Chandrabai ‘out of
love’.

Referring to Hindu laws, Justice Pangarkar held that the
‘coparcener’ or co-heir had no power to gift a joint family property, unless he
is the sole surviving legal heir.

Justice Pangarkar pointed out that as per Mitakshara, a
person can gift a portion of the family property only during certain
eventualities — “during distress for the sake of the family and especially for
pious purposes’’.

(Source : The Times of India, dated 18-3-2010)

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