Widow can't inherit Property if Husband did not own it: Punjab & Haryana HC

The Punjab & Haryana High Court recently held that a widow cannot claim the inheritance of a property by means of natural succession if her husband was not the owner of the suit land at the time of his death (Jaswant Kaur v. Lakhwinder Singh & Ors.). The Court, in an appeal filed by the widow to claim a right over the suit property based on natural succession, held that since the appellant's husband was not the owner of such property on the date of his death, the question of inheriting the estate does not arise. The appellant had claimed the suit land based on natural succession, claiming that her deceased husband was the owner of the property and possessed the same. She had filed the suit against her four sons and the persons who had subsequently purchased the property from them. The Civil Court, however, found that the sons were the owners in possession of the suit property and had transferred the property to purchasers (who are also the defendants in the case) through registered sale deeds and on the receipt of consideration. “ It has been held that late Sh. Baldev Singh [deceased husband] was not the owner of the suit land on the date of his death. Hence, the question of inheritance of the estate does not arise,” the High Court held.

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