Hindu Succession Act | To Decide Shares Of Heirs, First Step Is To Ascertain Share Of Deceased In Coparcenary Property On Date Of Death : Supreme Court

Tried and tested many times over, the issue of succession to Mitakshara coparcenary property continues to raise its head time and again like an undying Hydra of Lerna, the Supreme Court remarked while disposing a civil appeal.In this case, a partition suit was filed in the year 1991 and the same was decreed by the Trial Court in the year 1996. The court noted that in Gurupad Khandappa Magdum vs. Hirabai Khandappa Magdum and others, it was observed that in order to ascertain the shares of the heirs in the property of a deceased coparcener, the first step is to ascertain the share of the deceased himself in the coparcenary property. Related reports -Child From Void/Voidable Marriage Cannot Be Treated As Coparcener By Birth In Mitakshara Hindu Undivided Family : Supreme Court Children Of Invalid Marriages Have Right In Their Parents' Share In Hindu Joint Family Property : Supreme Court Derha vs Vishal 2023 LiveLaw 740 | 2023 INSC 785 Mitakshara Hindu Property Succession - Tried and tested many times over, the issue of succession to Mitakshara coparcenary property continues to raise its head time and again like an undying Hydra of Lerna. Hindu Succession Act, 1955 ; Section 6 - In order to ascertain the shares of the heirs in the property of a deceased coparcener, the first step is to ascertain the share of the deceased himself in the coparcenary property and Explanation 1 to Section 6 provides a fictional expedient, namely, that his share is deemed to be the share in the property that would have been allotted to him if a partition had taken place immediately before his death- Once that assumption has been made for the purpose of ascertaining the share of the deceased, one cannot go back on the assumption and ascertain the shares of the heirs without reference to it, and all the consequences which flow from a real partition have to be logically worked out, which means that the shares of the heirs must be ascertained on the basis that they had separated from one another and had received a share in the partition which had taken place during the life-time of the deceased.