In its recent decision in the case of Mukatlal v. Kailash Chand (D) Through Lrs. And Ors., the Hon’ble Supreme Court was confronted with decoding Section 14(1) of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (“HSA”) to determine its contours and applicability to the case at hand. While doing the same, the Supreme Court held that a Hindu female must be in possession of the property to claim absolute ownership of an undivided property in a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF).

The court opined that possession of the property is a crucial element under Section 14(1) of the HSA. In the present case, it was held that since the deceased female widow never possessed the suit property, she cannot claim ownership of it according to the HSA.

After referring to the statutory scheme and laying due emphasis on precedents, the Court observed two conditions, upon the fulfillment of which, absolute ownership of an undivided property of an HUF is contingent. The relevant extracts of the judgment are set out as under:

“It is clear that for establishing full ownership on the undivided joint family estate under Section 14(1) of the Succession Act the Hindu female must not only be possessed of the property but she must have acquired the property and such acquisition must be either by way of inheritance or devise, or at a partition or “in lieu of maintenance or arrears of maintenance” or by gift or be her own skill or exertion, or by purchase or by prescription.”