Yes, anyone claiming as legal heir can file a dispute suit.
In the absence of proper legal heirship certificate it will not be advisable to purchase the property however you may obtain a proper legal opinion from an experienced lawyer in the local
Respected Sir, One Mr.Ramesh had two acres of agricultural land in his possession till his death in 2004. In 2004 after his death one person Mr.Suresh (claiming to be his son, apparently his son) converted the property into residential plots and sold one of the plots to Mr.Ravi duly via registered sale deed in Sub-Registrar Office, after a few years Mr.Ravi sold this plot to Mr.Vinay and Mr.Vinay sold it to Mr.Arun and I would like to purchase this same plot from Mr.Arun. There is no double registration, the EC is very clear as the chain of successive owners is not in dispute. It has been more than 20 years since it was first sold and also death certificate of Mr.Ramesh is available. (1) There is no legal heir certificate available, so can another person other than Mr.Suresh come and declare himself as legal heir and claim ownership of this property? (2) Can Mr.Suresh himself create any problems in the future regarding this property?
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Yes, anyone claiming as legal heir can file a dispute suit.
In the absence of proper legal heirship certificate it will not be advisable to purchase the property however you may obtain a proper legal opinion from an experienced lawyer in the local
Mr Suresh cannot claim the land as he has already sold the plot to Ravi
2) whether Suresh was the only legal heir of Rakesh is the issue .if he had any siblings they can claim share in property
Verify the following documents…
Had Mr. Suresh Got land mutated in his name and other legal heirs of Mr. ramesh? Was there due partition among legal heirs? had legal heirs relinquished their rights in respect of land in favour of Mr. suresh? Mere death certificate of Mr. ramesh is not sufficient. Though mr. suresh cannot create issue but other legal heirs can do. verify the facts and documents verified before proceeding to purchase the land.
1. As per law , the legal heir certificate is not mandatory to transfer the ownership of a deceased person to his family members , and it can be transferred by mutation in the name of legal heirs.
- Hence, you can check the first sale deed executed by Mr Ramesh to know his status in the said property.
2. No, as the property has been sold multiple times.
Since the property originally belonged to Mr. Ramesh, and there is no legal heir certificate available, the following legal aspects need to be considered before purchasing the plot:
If there is any doubt about Mr. Suresh’s exclusive ownership, it is advisable to obtain a legal heir certificate or a family settlement deed from all possible heirs before proceeding with the purchase.
Thanks and Regards,
Advocate Aman Verma
Legal Corridor
Dear Client,
Since there is no legal heir certificate, any third person who claims himself to be a legal heir of Mr. Ramesh can approach and claim ownership of the property. But since the property has been legally completed for over twenty years and its Encumbrance Certificate (EC) is clear, such a claim would fail as being too weak. As per the Limitation Act, claims based on inheritance are under 12 years of limitation. The chances of a valid claim are weak-distant ones.
Possible Problems from Mr. Suresh: If Mr. Suresh had properly transferred the property through registered sale deed, he had in fact relinquished his right of ownership and he cannot lay a claim to the property thereafter. If he had posed himself as the exclusive heir with other legal heirs who had been there, the actual heir can contest the transaction. The court during such instances so that it can look into the validity of an earlier sale can verify whether it had been transacted in a lawful manner or not.
As a precautionary Measures: A clear title can be acquired only after it is ascertained whether a legal heir certificate or family tree certificate can be procured from the revenue authorities. Also, a public notice in a newspaper calling for objections to the purchase should act as an added precaution. It is recommended that, before proceeding with the purchase, the revenue records be checked for any pending claims and a legal opinion obtained from an experienced property lawyer. In view of no disputes in the last 20 years and the property changing hands several times without a hitch, the risk is low. However, due diligence is imperative to avert future complications.