Grand father cannot transfer ancestral land by gift deed
2) daughters had share in ancestral property
3) suit can be filed to claim share in ancestral property as daughters by birth have share in ancestral property
Ancestral law in historical context and validity of claim
In Bihar, India, there lived a man who had a brother and 2 daughters. After marrying both his daughters off and settling them, he started living with his nephew in his old age and 1) in the year 1987, he performed division of ancestral property with his nephew 2) He wrote a gift deed to gif his share equally to his nephew's 2 sons in 1987. 3) The man died in 1994 due to old age. 3) In the year 2023, the man's daughter's son staked claim on ancestral property saying that the old man did not have right to gift the ancestral land. 4) The man's own daughter died many years ago. 5) The tax receipts for the land have been in the name of his nephew's sons since a very long time. Is this man's claim valid as per Indian constitution or Bihar's land laws?
Asked 2 years ago in Property Law
Religion: Hindu
8 Answers
Claim of daughter's son is not maintainable for being barred by limitation and law. Payment of tax does not create or confer any ownership right.
The claim and the case may not be maintainable because it is barred by limitation.
If a property is to be called ancestral, it must have been in continuous common possession and enjoyment for at least four generations. This fact needs to be checked in your case. However, assuming it to be so:
1) Was the man's brother alive when the partition was made in 1987? Because, the partition should have taken place only between the two brothers then living. As you say, the man divided the property with his nephew (assuming him to be his brother's son), it implies that the man's brother had died by then. Based on these assumed facts, the partition seems to be in order.
2) Yes, he was well within his rights to have gifted his share.
3) No, her claim is not tenable legally.
Dear Client,
In accordance with the prevailing legal provisions, it is not permissible for a grandfather to transfer ancestral land solely through a gift deed. This is primarily due to the fact that daughters hold a rightful share in ancestral property. As daughters by birth, they have an inherent entitlement to a portion of the ancestral property. Therefore, it is within their rights to file a suit seeking their rightful share in the ancestral property. This legal action aims to ensure that the daughters receive their due inheritance as mandated by law.
No claim and barred by limitation.
- Legally, an Ancestral property is the one which is inherited up to four generations of male lineage without dividing and partitioning the property by the previous three generations.
- Further , a person cannot transfer an Ancestral property by way of a WILL or gift deed as per his own choice and without taking the consent of other members of the family
- Hence, the said man was not having any right to execute gift deed in favor of his nephews sons without taking the consent of other claimants of that property
- His daughters having her right over the property and can declared the said gift deed as null and void after filing a declaration suit before the court , and even claim their equal share in the property .
If they prove that he didn’t have any right and fraud has been played then the gift deed will be set aside. But if they had knowledge then within 3 years
