1

DAMODARAM SANJIVAYYA NATIONAL LAW

UNIVERSITY

VISAKHAPATNAM, A.P., INDIA

PROJECT ON:

Smt. Janak Rani Chadha

vs

State (Nct Of Delhi) And Anr.

SUBJECT: FAMILY

FACULTY: Mr. RADHA KRISHNA

By

Name: Revathi

Semester/Roll No.:18LLB093
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We wish to express our sincere gratitude to our Mr. Radha Krishna for not only providing us
with an opportunity to do this project but also for providing her indispensable guidance and
support in conducting a detailed study on this topic.

We are also grateful towards everyone who has helped, in one way or the other, to complete
the project. A lot of effort has been put into this study to make it as factually error free as
possible and we thank everyone for ensuring the same.

We also thank our parents for their kind cooperation and encouragement without which this
project would not have been possible.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Abstract

Objectives & Scope of the Study

Significance of the Study

Research Methodology

Synopsis

Case analysis
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OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY:: The main objective of the study is to gain
knowledge on the Hindu succession act, 1956.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY: The significance of the study is to look into the hindu
succession act, 1956 , to know whether a person can get the property of deceased when the
person claiming himself to get the property is culprit..

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: The researcher conducted a doctrinal method of research.

Researcher will have a look at the diverse unique works, files on the case ,Smt. Janak Rani
Chadha vs State (Nct Of Delhi) And Anr.
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SYNOPSIS:

NAME OF THE COURT: HIGH COURT OF DELHI

NAME OF THE CASE: Smt. Janak Rani Chadha vs State (Nct Of Delhi) And Anr

EQUIVALENT CITATION: AIR 2007 Delhi 107

BENCH:  R Sharma

DATE OF JUDGEMENT: 19 October, 2006

JUDGEMENT: R Sharma

PETITIONER: Smt. Janak Rani Chadha

VS

RESPONDENT: State (Nct Of Delhi) And Anr

ACTS AND SECTIONS INVOLVED:

SECTION 273 OF INDIAN SUCCESSION ACT

SECTION 278 OF INDIAN SUCCESSION ACT

SECTION 302 OF IPC

SECTION 304 OF IPC

SECTION 15 OF HINDU SUCCESSION ACT

SECTION 16 OF HINDU SUCCESSION ACT

SECTION 25 OF HINDU SUCCESSION ACT

SECTION 27 OF HINDU SUCCESSION ACT

FACTS: Smt.Janak Rani and Shri Surjit Kumar Chadha lost their daughter and what has
added to their misery is that that precious life was lost at the hands of their son-in-law to
whom they had given her hand in marriage. The deceased was Smt.Shamma Chadha. She
was married to Shri Prabhat Uppal. The deceased has left behind property bearing plot No. 4
Road P1, admeasuring 250.56 sq.mtrs. situated at Village Shahpur now known as DLF Qutab
 6

Enclave Complex Tehsil and District Gurgaon. The said property was purchased by her prior
to her marriage and as she died intestate, her parents are now claiming 'Letters of
Administration' with regard to it under Sections 273 and 278 of the Indian Succession Act.

Notice of the probate petition was issued to the husband of the deceased and so also to the
public at large through publication in the newspaper 'The Statesman' inviting of objections, if
any. In response to the notice, the husband filed his reply stating that he had no objection to
the grant of 'Letters of Administration' to the parents of the deceased.

QUESTION OF LAW:

Whether the spouse of a deceased can claim share in the property of the deceased, when he/
she is responsible for the death of the deceased.

Whether the parents of the deceased can have right to claim the property of their daughter
after her death.

CASES INVOLVED:

Nannepuneni Seetharamaiah and Ors. v. Nannepuneni Ramakrishnaiah

CONTENTIONS:

Learned Counsel for the petitioner rebutted the submission and in support relied upon Section
27 of the Hindu Succession Act which lays down that if any person is disqualified from
inheriting any property under this Act, it shall devolve as if such person had died before the
intestate.

There is no dispute that in view of Section 25 of the Hindu Succession Act the husband is
not entitled to claim inheritance to the property of his deceased wife. The said section has
been incorporated in the Act on the maxim Nemo Ex Suo Delicto Melforem Suam
Conditionem facre Protest. It is based on the principles of justice, equity and good conscience
to make it impossible for a murderer who deserves to be hanged or to be shut behind the
prison bars for life, to derive advantage or beneficial interest from the very heinous act
committed by him. This has been so stated in the case Nannepuneni Seetharamaiah and Ors.
v. Nannepuneni Ramakrishnaiah . I am in complete agreement with what has been held in the
said judgment.
 7

As regards Section 27 it goes a step further. It treats, of-course by fiction of law, such person
as is described in Section 25 as dead before the intestate. This means that he was non-existent
for the purpose of inheritance and therefore no right to the estate of the deceased can be
claimed through him. Admittedly the parents of the husband have no independent locus to
claim inheritance to the property of the deceased. They can claim only through their son
which is impermisable.

JUDGEMENT: The property goes to the parents of the deceased, the husband and his
parents cannot claim for the property. Notice of the probate petition was issued to the
husband of the deceased and so also to the public at large through publication in the
newspaper 'The Statesman' inviting of objections, if any. In response to the notice, the
husband filed his reply stating that he had no objection to the grant of 'Letters of
Administration' to the parents of the deceased. His parents also laid no claim to the property.

The property goes to the parents of the deceased, the husband and his parents cannot claim
for the property.  There is no dispute that in view of Section 25 of the Hindu Succession Act
the husband is not entitled to claim inheritance to the property of his deceased wife. The said
section has been incorporated in the Act on the maxim Nemo Ex Suo Delicto Melforem
Suam Conditionem facre Protest. It is based on the principles of justice, equity and good
conscience to make it impossible for a murderer who deserves to be hanged or to be shut
behind the prison bars for life, to derive advantage or beneficial interest from the very
heinous act committed by him.

As regards Section 27 it goes a step further. It treats, of-course by fiction of law, such person
as is described in Section 25 as dead before the intestate. This means that he was non-existent
for the purpose of inheritance and therefore no right to the estate of the deceased can be
claimed through him. Admittedly the parents of the husband have no independent locus to
claim inheritance to the property of the deceased. They can claim only through their son
which is impermisable.

Coming to the parents of the deceased they, in order to prove their claim have filed their
evidence by way of affidavits in which they have reiterated the averments made in the
petition. I have no reason to disbelieve either the averments made in the petition or the
affidavits of the parents. Accordingly, I hold, that they are entitled to 'Letters of
Administration' in respect of the property bearing plot No. 4 Road P1, admeasuring 250.56
 8

sq.mtrs. situated at Village Shahpur now known as DLF Qutab Enclave Complex Tehsil and
District Gurgaon subject to their furnishing of valuation certificate from the Collector,
payment of court fee thereon, Administration Bond and Surety Bond.The property does not
go to the husband because he killed his wife, who is owner of property. The deceased mother
in law and father in law also does not get the property because they belong to the family of
the accused. Only the parents of the deceased are entitled to property.
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CASE ANALYSIS

NAME OF THE COURT: HIGH COURT OF DELHI

NAME OF THE CASE: Smt. Janak Rani Chadha vs State (Nct Of Delhi) And Anr

EQUIVALENT CITATION: AIR 2007 Delhi 107

BENCH:  R Sharma

DATE OF JUDGEMENT: 19 October, 2006

JUDGEMENT: R Sharma

PETITIONER: Smt. Janak Rani Chadha

VS

RESPONDENT: State (Nct Of Delhi) And Anr

ACTS AND SECTIONS INVOLVED:

SECTION 273 OF INDIAN SUCCESSION ACT

SECTION 278 OF INDIAN SUCCESSION ACT

SECTION 302 OF IPC

SECTION 304 OF IPC

SECTION 15 OF HINDU SUCCESSION ACT

SECTION 16 OF HINDU SUCCESSION ACT

SECTION 25 OF HINDU SUCCESSION ACT

SECTION 27 OF HINDU SUCCESSION ACT

FACTS OF THE CASE: Smt.Janak Rani and Shri Surjit Kumar Chadha lost their daughter
and what has added to their misery is that that precious life was lost at the hands of their son-
in-law to whom they had given her hand in marriage. The deceased was Smt.Shamma
Chadha. She was married to Shri Prabhat Uppal. The deceased has left behind property
 10

bearing plot No. 4 Road P1, admeasuring 250.56 sq.mtrs. situated at Village Shahpur now
known as DLF Qutab Enclave Complex Tehsil and District Gurgaon. The said property was
purchased by her prior to her marriage and as she died intestate, her parents are now claiming
'Letters of Administration' with regard to it under Sections 273 and 278 of the Indian
Succession Act.

Notice of the probate petition was issued to the husband of the deceased and so also to the
public at large through publication in the newspaper 'The Statesman' inviting of objections, if
any. In response to the notice, the husband filed his reply stating that he had no objection to
the grant of 'Letters of Administration' to the parents of the deceased.

 It is not in dispute that the husband was convicted under Section 302 IPC for committing the
murder of his wife and that in appeal his conviction was converted from Section
302 to Section 304 IPC Part I. It is laid down in Section 25 of the Hindu Succession Act 1956
that a person who commits murder shall be disqualified from inheriting the property of the
person murdered. If the husband has not staked claim to the property of his wife it is not on
account of any remorse on his part but because of this section. I say so for the reason, that
during the course of arguments his counsel contended that the property should go to his
parents, despite the fact, that the parents themselves had made no claim to it.

ISSUES:

1.Whether the spouse of a deceased can claim share in the property of the deceased, when he/
she is responsible for the death of the deceased.

2.Whether the parents of the deceased can have right to claim the property of their daughter
after her death.

CONTENTONS :

Learned Counsel for the petitioner rebutted the submission and in support relied upon Section
27 of the Hindu Succession Act which lays down that if any person is disqualified from
inheriting any property under this Act, it shall devolve as if such person had died before the
intestate.

There is no dispute that in view of Section 25 of the Hindu Succession Act the husband is
not entitled to claim inheritance to the property of his deceased wife. The said section has
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been incorporated in the Act on the maxim Nemo Ex Suo Delicto Melforem Suam
Conditionem facre Protest. It is based on the principles of justice, equity and good conscience
to make it impossible for a murderer who deserves to be hanged or to be shut behind the
prison bars for life, to derive advantage or beneficial interest from the very heinous act
committed by him. This has been so stated in the case Nannepuneni Seetharamaiah and Ors.
v. Nannepuneni Ramakrishnaiah . I am in complete agreement with what has been held in the
said judgment.

As regards Section 27 it goes a step further. It treats, of-course by fiction of law, such person
as is described in Section 25 as dead before the intestate. This means that he was non-existent
for the purpose of inheritance and therefore no right to the estate of the deceased can be
claimed through him. Admittedly the parents of the husband have no independent locus to
claim inheritance to the property of the deceased. They can claim only through their son
which is impermisable.

In order to prove their claim have filed their evidence by way of affidavits in which they have
reiterated the averments made in the petition. I have no reason to disbelieve either the
averments made in the petition or the affidavits of the parents. Accordingly, I hold, that they
are entitled to 'Letters of Administration' in respect of the property bearing plot No. 4 Road
P1, admeasuring 250.56 sq.mtrs. situated at Village Shahpur now known as DLF Qutab
Enclave Complex Tehsil and District Gurgaon subject to their furnishing of valuation
certificate from the Collector, payment of court fee thereon, Administration Bond and Surety
Bond.

Learned Counsel for the petitioner rebutted the submission and in support relied upon Section
27 of the Hindu Succession Act which lays down that if any person is disqualified from
inheriting any property under this Act, it shall devolve as if such person had died before the
intestate.

5. There is no dispute that in view of Section 25 of the Hindu Succession Act the husband is
not entitled to claim inheritance to the property of his deceased wife. The said section has
been incorporated in the Act on the maxim Nemo Ex Suo Delicto Melforem Suam
Conditionem facre Protest. It is based on the principles of justice, equity and good conscience
to make it impossible for a murderer who deserves to be hanged or to be shut behind the
 12

prison bars for life, to derive advantage or beneficial interest from the very heinous act
committed by him

SECTIONS INVOLEVD:

SECTION 25 OF HINDU SUCCESSION ACT: Murderer disqualified.—A person who

commits murder or abets the commission of murder shall be disqualified from inheriting the
property of the person murdered, or any other property in furtherance of the succession to
which he or she committed or abetted the commission of the murder.

SECTION 15 OF HINDU SUCCESSION ACT: 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,—

(a) firstly, upon the sons and daughters (including the children of any pre-deceased son or
daughter) and the husband;

(b) secondly, upon the heirs of the husband;

(c) thirdly, upon the mother and father;

(d) fourthly, upon the heirs of the father; and

(e) lastly, upon the heirs of the mother.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1),—

(a) any property inherited by a female Hindu from her father or mother 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 father; and

(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.
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SECTION 17 OF HINDU SUCCESSION ACT: Special provisions respecting persons

governed by marumakkattayam and aliyasantana laws.—The provisions of sections 8, 10, 15
and 23 shall have effect in relation to persons who would have been governed by the
marumakkattayam law or aliyasantana law if this Act had not been passed as if—

(i) for sub-clauses (c) and (d) of section 8, the following had been substituted, namely“(c)
thirdly, if there is no heir of any of the two classes, then upon his relatives, whether agnates
or cognates.”;

(ii) for clauses (a) to (e) of sub-section (1) of section 15, the following had been substituted,
namely:— “(a) firstly, upon the sons and daughters (including the children of any pre-
deceased son or daughter) and the mother;

(b) secondly, upon the father and the husband;

(c) thirdly, upon the heirs of the mother;

(d) fourthly, upon the heirs of the father; and

(e) lastly, upon the heirs of the husband.”;

(iii) clause (a) of sub-section (2) of section 15 had been omitted;

(iv) section 23 had been omitted.

SECTION 27 OF HINDU SUCCESSION ACT: Succession when heir disqualified.—If any

person is disqualified from inheriting any property under this Act, it shall devolve as if such
person had died before the intestate.

SECTION 173 OF INDIAN SUCCESSION ACT: Conclusiveness of probate or letters of

administration.—Probate or letters of administration shall have effect over all the property
and estate, movable or immovable, of the deceased, throughout the State in which the same is
or are granted, and shall be conclusive as to the representative title against all debtors of the
deceased, and all persons holding property which belongs to him, and shall afford full
indemnity to all debtors, paying their debts and all persons delivering up such property to the
person to whom such probate or letters of administration have been granted: Provided that
probates and letters of administration granted—

(a) by a High Court, or

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(b) by a District Judge, where the deceased at the time of his death had a fixed place of abode
situate within the jurisdiction of such Judge, and such Judge certifies that the value of the
property and estate affected beyond the limits of the State does not exceed ten thousand
rupees, shall, unless otherwise directed by the grant, have like effect throughout 1[the other
States. The proviso to this section shall apply in India after the separation of Burma and
Aden from India to probates and letters of administration granted in Burma and Aden before
the date of the separation, or after that date in proceedings which were pending at that
date.The proviso shall also apply in India after the separation of Pakistan from India to
probates and letters of administration granted before the date of the separation, or after that
date in proceedings pending at that date, in any of the territories which on that date
constituted Pakistan.

SECTION 278 OF INDIAN SUCCESSION ACT: Petition for letters of administration.—

(1) Application for letters of administration shall be made by petition distinctly written as

aforesaid and stating—

(a) the time and place of the deceased’s death;

(b) the family or other relatives of the deceased, and their respective residences;

(c) the right in which the petitioner claims;

(d) the amount of assets which are likely to come to the petitioner’s hands;

(e) when the application is to the District Judge, that the deceased at the time of his death had
a fixed place of abode, or had some property, situate within the jurisdiction of the Judge; and

(f) when the application is to a District Delegate, that the deceased at the time of his death
had a fixed place of abode within the jurisdiction of such Delegate.

(2) Where the application is to the District Judge and any portion of the assets likely to come
to the petitioner’s hands is situate in another State, the petition shall further state the amount
of such assets in each State and the District Judges within whose jurisdiction such assets are
situate.

JUDGEMENT:  Smt.Janak Rani and Shri Surjit Kumar Chadha lost their daughter and what
has added to their misery is that that precious life was lost at the hands of their son-in-law to
 15

whom they had given her hand in marriage. The deceased was Smt.Shamma Chadha. She
was married to Shri Prabhat Uppal. The deceased has left behind property bearing plot No. 4
Road P1, admeasuring 250.56 sq.mtrs. situated at Village Shahpur now known as DLF Qutab
Enclave Complex Tehsil and District Gurgaon. The said property was purchased by her prior
to her marriage and as she died intestate, her parents are now claiming 'Letters of
Administration' with regard to it under Sections 273 and 278 of the Indian Succession Act.

Notice of the probate petition was issued to the husband of the deceased and so also to the
public at large through publication in the newspaper 'The Statesman' inviting of objections, if
any. In response to the notice, the husband filed his reply stating that he had no objection to
the grant of 'Letters of Administration' to the parents of the deceased. His parents also laid no
claim to the property.

The property goes to the parents of the deceased, the husband and his parents cannot claim
for the property.  There is no dispute that in view of Section 25 of the Hindu Succession Act
the husband is not entitled to claim inheritance to the property of his deceased wife. The said
section has been incorporated in the Act on the maxim Nemo Ex Suo Delicto Melforem
Suam Conditionem facre Protest. It is based on the principles of justice, equity and good
conscience to make it impossible for a murderer who deserves to be hanged or to be shut
behind the prison bars for life, to derive advantage or beneficial interest from the very
heinous act committed by him.

As regards Section 27 it goes a step further. It treats, of-course by fiction of law, such person
as is described in Section 25 as dead before the intestate. This means that he was non-existent
for the purpose of inheritance and therefore no right to the estate of the deceased can be
claimed through him. Admittedly the parents of the husband have no independent locus to
claim inheritance to the property of the deceased. They can claim only through their son
which is impermisable.

Coming to the parents of the deceased they, in order to prove their claim have filed their
evidence by way of affidavits in which they have reiterated the averments made in the
petition. I have no reason to disbelieve either the averments made in the petition or the
affidavits of the parents. Accordingly, I hold, that they are entitled to 'Letters of
Administration' in respect of the property bearing plot No. 4 Road P1, admeasuring 250.56
sq.mtrs. situated at Village Shahpur now known as DLF Qutab Enclave Complex Tehsil and
 16

District Gurgaon subject to their furnishing of valuation certificate from the Collector,
payment of court fee thereon, Administration Bond and Surety Bond.