Succession - Half blood brother vs Full blood brother children

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When it comes to inheritance under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (applicable in India), the distribution of property of a person who died intestate (without a will) is determined based on a hierarchy of heirs as defined in the Act. The Act categorizes heirs into two classes, with Class I heirs having the first right to the property, followed by Class II heirs if there are no Class I heirs.

Your query involves the interpretation of Class II heirs, specifically the precedence of half-blood relations over the lineal descendants of full blood relations. As per the Hindu Succession Act:

Class II heirs are divided into nine entries, with each entry given preference in the order listed. If there is anyone available in an entry, the next entry or entries will not inherit until those in the current entry have inherited equally.
In the scenario you've provided, there's a distinction to be made between a half-blood brother (Class II, Entry 2) and the children of a deceased full blood brother (Class II, Entry 4). As per the Act, the half-blood brother, being in Entry 2, would ordinarily have precedence over the children of the full blood brother, who are in Entry 4.

However, the specifics of inheritance cases can get complicated, and judicial interpretation plays a crucial role in applying these general rules. The Hindu Succession Act itself does not explicitly state that the legal heirs of a deceased full-blood brother (Class II, Entry 4) are preferred over a living half-blood brother (Class II, Entry 2). The general principle, as per the Act's classification, would suggest that the half-blood brother has precedence as he is listed earlier in the order of Class II heirs.

Advocate A Murali Mohan LawRato