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P. N. BHAGWATI, S. K. DAS, S. R. DASS
Kamla Devi – Appellant
Versus
Bachulal Gupta – Respondent
What is the competence of a Hindu widow to make a gift of a reasonable portion of her husband's estate to her daughter as marriage dowry subsequent to the marriage ceremony? What are the rights of a Hindu widow regarding the alienation of her husband's estate for religious or moral obligations connected with marriage? How to determine the validity of a gift executed by a widow years after an ante-nuptial promise regarding marriage dowry?
Key Points: - It is a religious duty and moral obligation for a father or mother to provide a girl with a suitable husband, which is fulfilled to prevent degradation and confer spiritual benefit (!) (!) . - A Hindu widow has the power to alienate a reasonable portion of her husband's estate in favor of a daughter as marriage dowry, even if executed subsequent to the marriage ceremony (!) (!) . - The lapse of time between the marriage and the execution of the registered deed of gift is immaterial if the gift fulfills an ante-nuptial agreement or moral obligation (!) (!) . - Section 123 of the Transfer of Property Act requires a registered instrument for a gift to be legally effective but does not affect the widow's power under Hindu Law to make such alienations (!) (!) . - The gift in question was held valid and binding on the reversioners because it was of a reasonable portion of the estate and fulfilled the promise made at the time of marriage negotiations (!) (!) . - The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, set aside the judgment of the Courts below, and dismissed the suit of the plaintiffs-respondents (!) (!) . - The Court found that the finding of the Courts below regarding the ante-nuptial agreement for the gift of four houses was correct and not vitiated by error (!) (!) . - The decision was made on the grounds of Hindu Law prior to the enactment of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, rendering it unnecessary to decide the scope of Section 14 of that Act (!) (!) .
Judgement
S. K. DAS. J. This is an appeal by special leave from the judgment and decree of the High Court of Calcutta, dated, 6th April 1950, by which the said High Court affirmed the judgment and decree of the Subordinate Judge of Asansol dated 30th June 1948 in Title Suit No. 2 of 1942. The suit was instituted by the four sons of one Sri Ram Kishori Lal Sao, a resident of Asansol in Bengal, who died in September 1927. One of the plaintiffs, Kalicharan died during the pendency of the suit and his heirs were brought on the record as plaintiffs in his stead. The defendants were Mst. Sumitra Devi, widow of the late Ram Kishori Lal, (defendant No.1), and Smt. Kamala Devi, daughter of the late Ram Kishori Lal (defendant No. 2). The said defendants, 1 and 2. are the appellants before us.
2. The suit was instituted for a declaration that a deed of gift dated 10th March 1940, executed by Mst. Sumitra Devi in favour of her daughter Smt. Kamala Devi, was void and inoperative beyond the lifetime of Mst. Sumitra Devi and was not binding on the reversion. The following genealogical table shows the relation inter se between the parties:
On his death, Ram Kishori Lal had left extensive properties
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