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2024 Supreme(Online)(MAD) 12742
THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS DATED: 04.03.2024 CORAM:
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE R.SUBRAMANIAN AND THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE R.SAKTHIVEL O.S.A.No.36 of 2024 and C.M.P.No.4892 of 2024 1.B.Ponnuswamy 2.P.Lakshmi ... Appellants Vs.
S.Saranya ... Respondent Prayer: Original Side Appeal filed under Order 36 Rule 9 of the Original Side Rules read with Clause 15 of Letters Patent, to allow the above OSA by dismissing the order passed in SOP.No.598 of 2019 dated 27.04.2023 and to issue Succession Certificate to the appellants alone. For Appellants : Mr.R.Balasubramanian *******
The registration of a marriage under the Hindu Marriage Registration (Tamil Nadu) Rules, 1967 creates a presumption of marriage, and the Hindu Widows- Remarriage Act, 1856 has been repealed by the Hindu Widows- Remarriage (Repeal) Act 1983, and therefore does not affect the rights of a widow who remarries.
Headnote:
SUCCESSION CERTIFICATE - HINDU MARRIAGE ACT - REMARRIAGE - EFFECT - HINDU WIDOWS-REMARRIAGE ACT, 1856 - REPEAL - HINDU WOMEN-S RIGHT TO PROPERTY ACT XVIII OF 1937 - APPLICABILITY
Fact of the Case:
The wife of the deceased applied for a Succession Certificate, which was resisted by the deceased's parents on the grounds that there was no marriage and that the applicant had remarried after the death of their son. The marriage was registered under the Hindu Marriage Act, and the wife claimed that she had married the deceased on 20.01.2016.
Finding of the Court:
The court held that the registration of the marriage under the Hindu Marriage Registration (Tamil Nadu) Rules, 1967 created a presumption of marriage, and that the Hindu Widows- Remarriage Act, 1856 had been repealed by the Hindu Widows- Remarriage (Repeal) Act 1983. The court also held that the decision in Minor Ramaiya Konar alias Ramasami Konar by father and guardian Natesa konar and another Vs. Mottayya Mudaliar alias Manicka Mudaliar, which related to the right of inheritance of an unchaste Hindu widow under the Hindu Women-s Right to Property Act XVIII of 1937, was not applicable to the facts of the case.
Issues: 1. Whether there was a valid marriage between the deceased and the applicant.2. Whether the applicant's remarriage after the death of the deceased affected her right to a Succession Certificate.
Ratio Decidendi: 1. The registration of a marriage under the Hindu Marriage Registration (Tamil Nadu) Rules, 1967 creates a presumption of marriage.2. The Hindu Widows- Remarriage Act, 1856 has been repealed by the Hindu Widows- Remarriage (Repeal) Act 1983, and therefore does not affect the rights of a widow who remarries.
Final Decision: The appeal was dismissed, and the Succession Certificate was granted to the wife of the deceased.
J U D G M E N T
(Judgment of the Court was delivered by R.SUBRAMANIAN, J.)
The challenge in this appeal is to the order of the learned Single Judge granting Succession Certificate in favour of the wife and the mother of deceased Ponnudurai.
2. The parents of the deceased had resisted the application of the wife for grant of Succession Certificate on the ground that there was no marriage as well as on the ground that the applicant had re-married, after the death of their son, in the year 2019.
3. The 1st respondent/ wife of the deceased Ponnudurai sought for issuance of Succession Certificate on the ground that she had married the deceased on 20.01.2016 at Siva Vishnu temple and the said marriage was registered under the Hindu Marriage Act on 10.03.2016.
4. The claim of the 1st respondent was resisted by the parents of the deceased Ponnudurai on two contentions. One was that there was no marriage and the other was that she had re-married.
5. As far as the factum of marriage on 20.01.2016 is concerned, the said marriage has been registered under the relevant Rules viz., Hindu Marriage Registration (Tamil Nadu) Rules, 1967. Once the registration is made, there is a presumption of marriage. Therefore, we are unable to fault the leaned Single Judge for having rejected the contention regarding the absence of marriage.
6. On the question of re-marriage, the learned counsel would draw our attention to Section 2 of the Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856 to contend that upon re-marriage, the rights of a widow in her husband's property ceases. This contention evidently overlooks the fact that the said Act viz., Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act was repealed by the Hindu Widows' Remarriage (Repeal) Act 1983.
7. The learned counsel would also seek to rely upon the judgment of the Full Bench of this Court in Minor Ramaiya Konar alias Ramasami Konar by father and guardian Natesa konar and another Vs. Mottayya Mudaliar alias Manicka Mudaliar reported in 64 LW 776, which is based on the Hindu Women's Right to Property Act XVIII of 1937. The law particularly Hindu Law relating to inheritance by women had undergone very serious changes thereafter. The said decision also relates to the right of inheritance of an unchaste of Hindu widow. It is not the case of the appellants that the respondent is unchaste. Hence the said decision will not apply to the facts of this case.
8. We do not see any merit in this appeal. The appeal therefore fails and it is accordingly dismissed. No costs. Consequently, the connected miscellaneous petition is closed.
(R.S.M., J.) (R.S.V., J.)
04.03.2024 dsa Index : No Internet : Yes Neutral Citation : No Speaking order R.SUBRAMANIAN, J.
and R .SAKTHIVEL , J.
dsa O.S.A.No.36 of 2024
04.03.2024
