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HIGH COURT OF CALCUTTA
P. N. MUKHERJEE, P. K. SARKAR
JARIA DEVI - Appellant
Versus
SHYAM SUNDAR AGARWALLA - Respondent
Civil Revn. Case 3216 Of 1956
Decided On : JUNE 03, 1957
Land Acquisition Act - Hindu Succession Act - Interpretation of Section 14(1) - The court held that the petitioner's limited interest as a Hindu widow in the properties, allotted to her under a deed of family arrangement, did not transform into absolute interest under Section 14(1) of the Hindu Succession Act. The exception under Section 14(2) applied, and the petitioner's claim for payment of a moiety share of the compensation was denied.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner, a Hindu widow, claimed payment of a moiety share of compensation for a masonry wall deposited by the Collector. She argued that her interest in the money had become absolute under Section 14(1) of the Hindu Succession Act.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the petitioner's claim did not fall under Section 14(1) but rather under the exception in Section 14(2) of the Hindu Succession Act, as the properties were allotted to her under a deed of family arrangement, expressly stipulating that she would have no more than a life interest.
Issues: Interpretation of Section 14(1) of the Hindu Succession Act, applicability of the exception under Section 14(2), and the effect of a deed of family arrangement on the petitioner's claim for compensation.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the petitioner's claim did not meet the requirements of Section 14(1) as the properties were allotted to her not strictly according to her share, but by way of family arrangement, expressly stipulating that she would have no more than a life interest.
Final Decision: The court affirmed the order of the learned District Judge and discharged the Rule, denying the petitioner's claim for payment of a moiety share of the compensation.
( 2 ) THE petitioner Jaria Devi claims title to the money as the heiress of her husband who was one of the four co-parceners of the particular family owning, inter alia, the acquired property and alleges that, under a deed of partition, she had been allotted a moiety share of the property along with others in lieu of her admitted one-fourth share in the joint properties. She contends that, in the circumstances, her limited interest as a Hindu widow in the properties, allotted to her as aforesaid, must be held to have been transformed into absolute interest under Section 14 (1) of the new Hindu Succession Act. If this had been a simple case of partition, allotting properties to the parties in proportion to their respective admitted shares, the petitioner's contention might have been correct, but where, as here, the widow co-sharer has been allotted properties not strictly according to her share, under a deed which is described as a deed of partition but which, in reality, is a deed of family arrangement not allotting properties to the widow strictly in accordance with any admitted share but by way of family arrangement, expressly stipulating that the widow will have no more than a life interest therein, the case, in our opinion, would fall within the exception, Section 14 (2), and not within, the general rule, enacted in Section 14 (1) of the Act. The petitioner's title to the acquired property is really founded on the above deed and Hot on any admitted share of inheritance. In this view, we affirm the order of the learned District Judge and discharge this Rule, though, in the circumstances, we would make no order as to costs.
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