Not birthright: How SC ruled on grandson's right in grandfather's property, Pg16

Key Highlights:

• The Supreme Court ruled that a son does not automatically acquire a share by birth in property inherited by his father from the grandfather.
• Such inherited property becomes the absolute property of the father, who can dispose of it as he chooses.
• The ruling clarifies the scope of coparcenary rights under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956.

Detailed Insights:

• The specific case involved a grandson, Rajesh, claiming coparcenary interest in a plot his father, M. Kumaran, inherited from the grandfather, N. Ramakrishnan.
• The Supreme Court upheld the appellate court's decision that the property became Kumaran’s exclusive share following a partition among the grandfather’s heirs.
• This means that once property is allotted to an heir (the father) in a partition, it transforms into his separate property, losing its character as ancestral property in which the son would have a birthright.
• The ruling emphasizes that birth alone does not guarantee a share in the grandfather's property if the father is alive and has inherited it as his exclusive share.
• Hindu law is primarily governed by two main schools: Dayabhaga (prevalent in West Bengal and Assam) and Mitakshara (followed in most other parts of India).
• Under the Dayabhaga School, a son does not acquire a right in family property by birth, unlike the traditional Mitakshara School concept of coparcenary.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Hindu Succession Act, 1956: A parliamentary act governing the inheritance and succession of property among Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs.
• Coparcenary: A legal concept in Hindu law where certain heirs acquire an interest in ancestral property by birth, traditionally under the Mitakshara school.
• Ancestral property: Property inherited by a Hindu from his father, father's father, or father's father's father, which can be subject to coparcenary rights.
• Dayabhaga School: A school of Hindu law where the son does not acquire a right in ancestral property by birth, gaining it only upon the father's death.
• Mitakshara School: A school of Hindu law where the son acquires an interest in ancestral property by birth, forming a coparcenary with his father.