Property rights are determined as per personal and statutory laws.
Table of Contents
Hindu Law:
Under Hindu law, before deciding the question of the right of grandchildren in the property of grandfather, it is important to know the nature of the property in the hands of the grandfather – whether ancestral or self-acquired.
Ancestral Property:
It is the property which is inherited by a person from his father, grandfather and great grandfather. The property must have passed undivided up to four generations. Property is divided as per stripes and not as per capita, i.e. share of each generation is determined first then the successive generations divide among themselves the share of their predecessor generation.
Hindu law recognises the concept of coparceners. It is a small unit within a joint Hindu family and consists of male lineal descendants’ of four generations. After the amendment of 2005 in the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, daughters are also coparceners along with sons.
Grandchildren – birthright in ancestral property
In the ancestral property (coparcenary property), the coparcener has a birthright. If the grandchildren are coparceners, they have a birthright in the ancestral property of the grandfather. They have a right along with all other coparceners, and therefore, they are entitled to get their share only. They can demand partition and file a suit for declaration and partition.
After the amendment of 2005, when a Hindu having an interest in the ancestral property dies intestate, his interest will devolve as per succession rule provided in Section 8 of the 1956 Act.
Self-acquired property: It is the property which a person:
- Purchases from his own income/resources
- A share of property acquired as a result of partition in ancestral property
- Receives as a gift
- Acquires as a legal heir through a testamentary document, e.g. Will
A person has absolute right over his self-acquired property and can dispose of it off as he pleases.
Grandchildren have no birthright in the self-acquired property of the grandfather. As per Hindu Succession Act, 1956, the self-acquired property of a Hindu male dying intestate devolves by succession, among the legal heirs as follows:
- Class I heirs
- Class II heirs (if no one in class I)
- Agnates (if no one in class II)
- Cognates (if no one in agnates)
( List of all the heirs is provided in the schedule of the Act )
Read: Property rights of daughters Under Hindu Law in India
The grandfather has absolute right to deal with the self-acquired property as he desires. If the Grandfather has made a will, the property bequeathes to the person named in the will.
If the grandfather dies intestate, the property devolves as per rule of succession provide in Section 8 of 1956, Act. Grandchildren will not get any share in the self-acquired property of the grandfather as grandchildren are not in Class I heirs. The father, i.e. son of the grandfather who is Class I heir gets the share.
However, if the father had already died before the death of the grandfather, then the grandchildren become entitled to the share in the self-acquired property as children of the predeceased son as they are now included in class I heirs as children of predeceased son/daughter and they inherit equally as other class I heirs.
Muslim Law:
There is no concept of joint family property in Muslim Law. The right of inheritance opens on the death of the person, and the nearer relatives are preferred over, the remoter. If the father is alive at the time of the death of the grandfather, he will get the property and not the grandchildren.