A grandchild cannot claim any share while the parent is still alive, ordered the Delhi High Court while dismissing a civil suit filed by one Kritika Jain against her father, Rakesh Jain and aunt Neena Jain, seeking a one-fourth share in a property in Delhi.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav held that the property, purchased by her (Kritika) late grandfather Pawan Kumar Jain, devolved solely on his widow and children under Section 8 (Primary rules for succession) of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956.
The Court observed that Kritika, being a granddaughter, did not qualify as a Class I heir while her father was alive, highlighting that she had no legal right over the property.
She argued that the property purchased by her grandfather, late Pawan Kumar Jain, was ancestral and that she was entitled to it. However, the Court emphasised that after 1956, property inherited by Class I heirs becomes their absolute property and not joint family property.
Consequently, the plaint was rejected under Order VII Rule 11 of the CPC for disclosing no cause of action.
In an exclusive conversation with iTV Network, Advocate Vineet Jindal, who appeared for the defendants, said that this judgment is important as it clears a widespread misconception among the public that grandchildren automatically acquire rights over their grandparents’ property even when their own parents (the Class-I heirs) are alive.
The Court has categorically reaffirmed that such claims have no legal foundation under the Hindu Succession Act, Jindal added.
He said that any further appeal by the plaintiff is unlikely to succeed, given the consistent line of the Supreme Court on this issue.
