Recently, the Hon’ble Apex Court in the case of N. Thajudeen V. Tamil Nadu Khadi And Village Industries Board, while setting aside an appeal before it, explained the conditions to revoke a gift deed as per S. 126 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 and observed that a gift deed cannot be revoked ordinarily, particularly when no right of revocation is reserved in the gift deed.

The Court held that a valid gift deed can be suspended or revoked under certain contingencies. In this regard, it explained the three conditions stating when a gift deed could be revoked. Briefly stated, the three conditions are as follows:

1. The first is where the donor and the done agree for its revocation on the happened of any specified event.
2. The Second is when a gift deed would be void wholly or in part if the parties agree that it shall be revocable wholly or in part at the mere will of the donor.
3. Thirdly, a gift is liable to be revoked in a case where it is in the nature of a contract which could be rescinded.

The Court, upon testing these conditions against the facts of the case, held that none of the exceptions permitting revocation of the gift deed could be applied in the present case, particularly given the fact that no right has been reserved in the gift deed under consideration for its revocation. The relevant extracts from the judgment are as under:

“Thus, none of the exceptions permitting revocation of the gift deed stands attracted in the present case. Thus, leading to the only conclusion that the gift deed, which was validly made, could not have been revoked in any manner. Accordingly, revocation deed dated 17.08.1987 is void ab initio and is of no consequence which has to be ignored.”