Property inherited by father. Can it be given away to only one child?

A pre-requisite condition required for a property to be Ancestral property is that it should be owned by the great grand father followed by grand father, father & present generation all in this linear generation living & enjoying the property.

The property should not have ever partitioned & share in it distributed to any of the Hindu Coparceners as in any linear generation as mentioned above, in other words, it should be intact single property which is being used jointly by all members of the Hindu Joint family. Therefore, all property inherited by a male Hindu from his father, fathers father, or fathers fathers father, is ancestral property.

The essential feature of inheritance of ancestral property according to the Mitakshara law under Hindu Succession Act is that man inherits from any of his three immediate paternal ancestors, namely, his father, fathers father and father's father's father is ancestral property as regards his male issue, and his son acquires jointly with him an interest in it by birth. Their rights attach to it at the moment of their birth. However with the amendment in 2005 in Hindu Succession Act the daughters are entitled to equal inheritance rights along with other male siblings, which was not available to them prior Hindu Succession Act .

“The new Section 6 provides for parity of rights in the coparcenary property among male and female members of a joint Hindu family on and from September 9, 2005.

“According to the new Section 6, the daughter of a coparcener becomes a coparcener by birth in her own rights and liabilities in the same manner as the son. The declaration in Section 6 that the daughter of the coparcener shall have same rights and liabilities in the coparcenary property as she would have been a son is unambiguous and unequivocal,” which has been pronounced by various judgement.

Therefore, if your property falls within such ambit then you and your other siblings  are equally  entitled for the share in your father’s property.

In view of above, your father has to divide the property equally.

However, if your property does not fall with the above mentioned ambit, then your father has right to dispose of the property by virtue of Will to anyone he desires.