The amendment to Section 15(2)(c) of the Hindu Succession Act grants rights to a widow of a predeceased son to inherit property, overriding dissolution of marriage.

J U D G M E N T

The 2^nd defendant in a suit for partition, having been concurrently non-suited, has come up in the present appeal attempting to raise certain substantial questions of law touching upon the interpretation of Section 15 (2)(c) of the Hindu Succession Act , 1956 (Kerala Amendment). The facts are not under dispute. The plaintiff is the widow of one Shan, the brother of the appellant. The plaint schedule property jointly belonged to one Gopinathan and his wife, the 1^st defendant, who are the father and mother, respectively, of the appellant. The father died intestate in the year 2006. Therefore, as legal heirs, late Shan, the original first defendant and the appellant inherited 1/3^rd share each over the half right of late Gopinathan. In the meantime, the marriage of the plaintiff with late Shan appears to have been dissolved. Subsequently, Shan also passed away in the year

2010. The rights of a predeceased son over the property governed by the Hindu Succession Act , 1956 thus devolved upon the original 1st defendant, the mother, and she continued to hold the property until her death in the year 2017. In the meantime, the Kerala State legislature introduced an amendment to Section 15 of the , 1956 by incorporating an additional clause as clause (c) to sub-section (2) of . By the said amendment, the rights of a predeceased son, which devolved upon the mother on his death, would revert back to the wife of the predeceased son and not to the heirs of the husband. With this amendment, the plaintiff instituted the suit, contending that she is entitled to 1/3^rd share over ½ share of Gopinathan, which devolved upon her husband. The appellant resisted the suit by contending that since the plaintiff had already dissolved her marriage with late Shan and had remarried, the plaintiff will not be entitled to any share over the property. This contention was, however, repelled by the trial court, and the suit was decreed, aggrieved by which the 2^nd defendant preferred AS No.64/2022 before the District Court, Pathanamthitta, which was also dismissed.

Hence, the present appeal.

2. Heard Sri.P.R.Venkatesh, the learned counsel appearing for the appellant/2^nd defendant.

3. The learned counsel appearing for the appellant contended that the findings of the courts below with regard to the amendment to Section 15 of the Hindu Succession Act , 1956 by the State legislature, will not apply to the present case because the succession opened in the year 2010 on the death of late Shan, the husband of the plaintiff. On the date of opening of the succession, the widow was not protected, and therefore, the rights devolved upon the original first defendant-mother and on her death, the appellant, being the sole legal heir, would be entitled to inherit the property. He further contended that the source of devolution mentioned under clauses (a) & (b) of (2) will override the provision of (2)(c) and therefore, the appellant is entitled to succeed. It is further pointed out that the widow without children, who inherits the property from her husband or father, will not get the benefit of (2)(c) of the , 1956.

4. Though it is asserted before this Court that in the light of the contentions raised as above, various substantial questions of law as raised in the memorandum of appeal arise for consideration, this Court is of the view that the appeal lacks merit, since there is no substantial question of law arises for consideration in the present appeal for the following reasons:

(a) The argument now advanced, if accepted, would render the amendment to Section 15 (2)(c) of the Hindu Succession Act , 1956, redundant. It was with a larger public policy that the State legislature had brought in the amendment to (2)(c) of the , 1956, which cannot be obliterated by the courts by placing an interpretation, which renders the provision unworkable.

(b) It is an admitted case that as on the date of the death of late Gopinathan, late Shan, the husband of the pla