Inheritance &

Succession
Unit- IV
-Ms. Namratha
Assistant Professor
BMSCL.
 General principles of
Inheritance
 Inheritance never in abeyance
 Inheritance cannot be overridden by agreement
 Spes Successions is not recognized
 Males took absolutely, females take limited estate
 Doctrine of representation
Division per stripes & per capita
 Whole blood to be preferred to half blood
 Propinquity & religious efficacy
 Hindu Succession Act, 1956
Objects:
• Hindu succession Act, 1956 –to meet needs of progressive society
• remove inequalities between men & women- property
• list of heirs
• codify & amend Hindu law on succession
• Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005- daughter of the
coparcener is a coparcener: same rights & obligations as that of
son.
 Features of the Act
• Applicability
• Female to inherit property
• Abolished impartible estate & special mode of succession
• Property of person married under special marriage Act-
does not apply
• Rule of survivorship abolished
• Order of succession- love & affection: right to offer
Pindas or propinquity of blood- discarded
• Remotest agnate or cognate to be heir
• No distinction between male and female heirs
• Uniform order of succession-property of female Hindu
• Order of succession of agnate and cognates- according to
degrees: rules laid down
• Hindu women’s limited estate – abolished
• Uniform order of succession- property of female Hindu
• Full blood shall exclude the half blood
• right of child in mother’s womb at the intestate’s death
& subsequently relates back to the date of intestate’s
death-Doctrine of relation back
• Right of pre-emption
• Murderer is not entitled to succeed
• Removal of disqualifications
• dispose of interest in the coparcenary property by will.
• Right of illegitimate children
 Scope and Application of the Act
 Definitions:
 Agnates- Person related by blood or adoption, but wholly
through males
 Cognates- Person related by blood or adoption, but not
wholly through males.
• Son’s daughter’s son or daughter/ Sister’s son or sister’s
daughter/ mother’s brother’s son- Cognates
• Agnates: One’s father, grandfather, etc- Ascending line
Father’s brother’s son etc- Collateral line
Son, grandson- descending line
• Heir: male or female who succeeds to the property of an
intestate under this Act.
• Intestate: A person is deemed to die intestate in respect
of property of which he or she had not made a
testamentary disposition- will
• Custom: rule which in a particular family or in a
particular district has, from long usage, obtained the force
of law. Ancient, certain, reasonable.
• “Full blood”, “Half blood”, and “uterine blood”
• Sec 6- Devolution of Interest in
Coparcenary property:
• On & after commencement of Hindu Succession
(Amendment) Act, 2005
• daughter of a coparcener is a coparcener.
• by birth coparcener
• have same right like a son
• subject to same liability as that of a son
• incidents of coparcenary ownership
• interest in the property of joint family- not by survivorship
• Abolition of Doctrine of Survivorship
• Abolition of Pious Obligation-
• After Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005-No right to
proceed against a son, grandson or great grandson for the
recovery of any debt due from father, grandfather or great-
grandfather- pious obligation.
• Debt contracted before Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act,
2005- shall not affect
• Partition
Rules of Succession in case of Males

 Sec 8: General rules of succession in the case of

males:
• Class I heir (16 heirs)
• Class II heir (9 Entries)
• Agnates
• Cognates
 Class I Heirs
 - Before Hindu Succession (Amendment)Act, 2005 –(12 heirs)
1. Son
2. Daughter
3. Widow
4. Mother
5. Son of a Predeceased son (SS)
6. Daughter of a Predeceased Son (SD)
7.Son of a Predeceased daughter (DS)
8.Daughter of a predeceased daughter (DD)
9. Widow of a Predeceased son (SW)
10.Son of a Predeceased son of a Predeceased son (SSS)
11.Daughter of a predeceased son of a predeceased son (SSD)
12. widow of a Predeceased son of a Predeceased son (SSW)
 After Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005: (4 heirs
were added)
13. Son of a Pre-deceased daughter of a Pre-deceased
daughter (DDS)
14. Daughter of a Pre-deceased daughter of a Pre-
deceased daughter(DDD)
15. Daughter of a Pre-deceased son of a Pre-deceased
daughter(DSD)
16. Daughter of a Pre-deceased daughter of a Pre-
deceased son(SDD)

 Therefore now, Class I heirs= 12+4=16 heirs

 Sec 9: Order of succession among heirs in the
Schedule
 heirs in class I take simultaneously
Sec 10:Distribution of shares among heirs in Class I of the
Schedule:
Rule 1: The Intestate’s widow or if there are more widows than one,
all the widows together, shall take one share.
Rule 2: The surviving sons and daughters and mother of the intestate
shall each take one share
Rule 3: The heirs in the branch of each pre-deceased son or each pre-
deceased daughter of the intestate shall take between them one share.
Rule 4: The distribution of share referred to in Rule 3
 Class II Heirs
I. Father
II. 1. Son’s daughter’ son 2. Son’s daughter’s daughter 3. Brother 4. Sister
III. 1. Daughter’s son’s son 2. Daughter’s son’s daughter 3. Daughter’s
daughter’s son, 4.Daughter’s daughter’s daughter.
IV. 1. Brother’s son 2. Sister’s son, 3. Brother’s daughter, 4. Sister’s
daughter
V. 1.Father’s father 2. Father’s Mother
VI. 1.Father’s Widow (Step mother) 2. Brother’s widow
VII. 1. Father’s brother 2. Father’s sister
VIII.1. Mother’s Father 2. Mother’s mother
IX. 1. Mother’s brother 2. Mother’s sister
 Sec 9: Order of succession
 Among the heirs specified in the schedule, those in the first
entry in class II shall be preferred to those in the second entry;
 Those in the second entry shall be preferred to those in the
third entry & so on….
 Sec 11: Distribution of property among heirs in class II of the
Schedule-
 All the heirs will take the shares simultaneously & equally
within the entry.
Sec 12: Order of Succession among agnates and
cognates
Rule 1:Of two heirs, the one who has fewer or no degree of
ascent will be preferred
Rule 2: Where the number of degrees of ascent is the same or
none, that heir is preferred who has fewer or no degree of
descent
Rule 3: When neither heir is entitled to be preferred to the other
under rule 1 & 2, they take simultaneously.
 Sec 13: Computation of degrees
 For the purpose of determining the order of succession among
agnates or cognates, relationship shall be reckoned from the
intestate to the heir in terms of degrees of ascent or degrees of
descent or both, as the case may be.
 Degrees of ascent & degrees of descent shall be computed
inclusive of the intestate.
 Every generation constitutes a degree either ascending or
descending.
 Absolute property of Female
 Sec 14: Property of a Female Hindu to be her
absolute property
 Rules of Succession in the case
of Female Hindu dying intestate
 Sec 15: General rules of succession in the case of female
Hindus
• Property of female Hindu dying intestate
I. Son, Daughter, (including Children of predeceased son or
daughter), Husband
II. Heirs of husband
III. Mother & Father
IV. Heirs of father
V. Heirs of Mother
• Property inherited from her father or mother-
absence of Son & Daughter, absence of children of
pre-deceased son or daughter: Upon heirs of Father
• Property inherited from her husband or father-in-
law- absence of Son & Daughter, absence of children
of pre-deceased son or daughter: Upon heirs of
Husband.
• Sec 16: Order of Succession and manner of
distribution among heirs of female Hindu
Rule 1: If there are heirs in the first entry, they shall
be preferred and others are excluded
Rule 2: Branches- divide among branches
Rule 3- upon heirs of father, heirs of mother, heirs of
husband
General Provisions relating
to Succession
 Sec 18: Full blood preferred to half blood
 Sec 19: Mode of succession of two or more heirs
 Sec 20: Right of child in womb
 Sec 21: Presumption in cases of simultaneous
deaths
 Sec 22: Preferential right to acquire property in
certain cases
 Sec 25: Murderer disqualified
 Sec 26: Convert’s descendants disqualified
 Sec 27: Succession when heir disqualified
 Sec 28: Disease, defect, etc., not to disqualify
 Stridhan
• includes movable, immovable property, gifts
received by women

• derived from the word ‘Stri’- a woman and ‘Dhana’-

Property
 Pratibha Rani v. Suraj Kumar
• Supreme Court enlisted following to constitute Stridhan-
1. Gifts made before the nuptial fire
2. Gifts made at the bridal procession
3. Gifts made in token of love
4. Gifts made by father of the bride
5. Gifts made by mother of the bride
6. Gifts made by the brother of the bride
 Sec 14 of the Hindu Succession Act- absolute owner
 Sources of the Stridhan:
 Gifts and bequests from relations
 Gifts and bequests from strangers
 Property acquired by mechanical arts
 Property given in lieu of maintenance
 Property purchased with the income of Stridhan
 Property inherited by a woman
 Property received under a decree or award
 Power of Hindu female over Women’s estate:
 Power of management
 Power of alienation
 Sec 14 of Hindu Succession Act
• Full owner
• Full heritable capacity
• Sec 14 dispenses traditional limitation on powers of a female Hindu
• Female Hindu dies intestate- devolve by uniform order of
succession provided in sec 15 & 16
 GIFT
 Definition of Gift:
• According to sec 122 of Transfer of Property Act, 1882-
“Gift” is the transfer of certain existing movable or
immovable property made voluntarily and without
consideration, by one person, called the Donor to
another called the Donee and accepted by or on behalf
of the Donee.
 Essential ingredients of a Gift: Sec 123 of Transfer
of Property Act
1. Transfer of ownership
2. Property either movable or immovable (existing
property)
3. Transfer without consideration
4. Transfer must be voluntary- free consent
5. Gift must be accepted by the transferee.
 Under transfer of property Act-
 Gift of immovable property can only be effected by a
registered instrument signed by or on behalf of the donor
and attested by atleast two witnesses.
 For a movable property, transfer may be effected by a
registered instrument.
 Parties to the Gift:
1. Donor:
• makes a gift
• sound mind & major
• has right to make gift
• absolute owner of the subject matter
2. Donee:
• receives the gift.
• acceptance of the gift-makes gift complete
• be in existence
 Subject matter of the Gift:
 Separate or self-acquired property of a Hindu
Stridhana- Woman’s absolute property
 Interest of a Coparcener under the Dayabhaga Law
 Whole of the ancestral property by the father under the
Dayabhaga Law.
 Gift when completed
 Gift to unborn persons
 Restrictions on exercise of right
 Defeat or defraud creditors
 Defeat the claims of persons
 Revocation of Gift
 WILL -Testamentary
Succession
 Will-
• Legal declaration of intention of a testator
• with respect to his property- which he desires
• to be carried into effect after his death
 Codicil:
• instrument made in relation to a will
• explaining, altering or adding to its dispositions and
• shall be deemed to form part of the will
 Persons capable of making will:
• Sound mind
• not a minor
• Pure Hindu law- a coparcener could not validly bequeath his
undivided interest in the joint family property
• Now rule is modified- sec 30 of Hindu Succession Act
• Sec 30- Mitakshara coparcenary can dispose of by will his or her
undivided interest
• Dayabhaga- no change in the position- same as previous law,
where he can dispose of property by gift or will to the same extent.
 What property can be disposed of by will?-
 Mitakshara:
• Separate or self-acquired property
• Joint family property by a sole surviving coparcener
• Sandayika Stridhan
• All Stridhan during widowhood
 Before Hindu Succession Amendment Act, 1956-
• Mitakshara- could not dispose of interest in coparcenery
property by will
 After Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act-
• Mitakshara- can dispose of interest in coparcenery
property by will- sec 30
 Dayabhaga:
The same under Mitakshara, with following additions-
• A coparcener could dispose of his share in the
coparcenary by will
• A father could dispose of all his property – ancestral
or self acquired.
 Revocation and alteration of will
 Bequest to unborn person
 Will when void?
 Fraud or coercion