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Showing contexts for: devolved in Laxmidhar Sahoo & Anr. vs Batakrushna Sahoo on 3 November, 2014Matching Fragments
7. The Second Appeal has been admitted on the following substantial questions of law:-
(1) When the admitted facts are that the deceased Ahalaya had died leaving behind one son and her husband and the Lot No.1 of plaint schedule property was inherited by her from her parents, whether the learned courts below have committed error in law in recording concurrent finding that the property will not devolve upon her husband simultaneously with her son under Section 15(1)(a) of the Hindu Succession Act but it shall devolve upon her son only ?
(2) If the property in Lot No.1 of the plaint schedule will devolve simultaneously on the father and the son, whether Section 8 of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956 will operate against the transfer of the property made by the father ?
8. For ready reference the provisions of law contained in Section 15 of the Act is quoted hereunder:
"15. General rules of succession in the case of female Hindus- (1) The property of a female Hindu dying intestate shall devolve according to the rules set out in Section 16, -
(b) any property inherited by a female Hindu from her husband or from her father-in-law shall devolve, in the absence of any son or daughter of the deceased (including the children of any pre-deceased son or daughter) not upon the other heirs referred to in sub-
section (1) in the order specified therein, but upon the heirs of the husband."
There is no dispute over the proposition of law that if a Hindu female dies intestate without leaving any issue then the property inherited by her from her father or mother would go to the heirs of her father whereas the property she has inherited from her husband or her father-in-law would go to the heirs of her husband. In the case in hand, the female Hindu has died leaving behind her son as well as her husband and the suit property she has inherited from her parent. According to the learned counsel for the appellants, in such a contingency the property shall devolve upon her son and her husband simultaneously in accordance with sub-section (1) of Section 15 of the Act. But, according to the learned counsel for the Respondent the husband stands excluded.
10. Sub-section (2) of Section 15 carves out an exception in case of a female dying intestate without leaving son, daughter or children of a predeceased son or daughter. In such a case, the rule prescribed is to find out the source from which she has inherited the property. If it is inherited from her father or mother, it would devolve as prescribed under Section 15 (2)(a). If it is inherited by her from her husband or father-in-law, it would devolve upon the heirs of her husband under Section 15(2)(b). The clause enacts that in a case where the property is inherited by a female from her father or mother, it would devolve not upon the other heirs, but upon the heirs of her father. This would mean that if there is no son or daughter including the children of any predeceased son or daughter, then the property would devolve upon the heirs of her father. Result would be - if the property is inherited by a female from her father or her mother, neither her husband nor his heirs would get such property, but it would revert back to the heirs of her father."