Children of invalid marriages can get parents' property, rules SC
The Supreme Court (SC) officially ruled on Friday that children born out of voidable or void marriages are entitled to get a share in the property of their parents. According to LiveLaw, the country's highest court also clarified that this ruling is only applicable to Hindu joint family properties governed under the Hindu Mitakshara Law.
Reinforcing fair share for children
A three-judge SC bench presided over by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud delivered the ruling in reference to a 2011 two-judge bench ruling in the "Revanasiddappa v/s Mallikarjun" case. As per reports, the decade-old plea concerned the vexing legal question of whether non-marital children were entitled to a share of their parents' ancestral property under Hindu law.
Details on SC bench's verdict
"We have now formulated conclusion, 1. A child of a marriage which is null and void is statutorily conferred with the legitimacy, 2. In terms of 16(2) (of the Hindu Marriage Act) where a voidable marriage is annulled, a child begotten before degree is deemed to be legitimate," the bench was quoted as saying by the news agency PTI.
Legitimacy and inheritance under Hindu Marriage Act
The case's issue concerned the interpretation of Section 16 of the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955, which grants legitimacy to children born out of invalid marriages. Section 16(3), however, states that such offspring will have no rights to other coparcenary shares. To this, the bench explained that Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act defines the interest of coparceners in a Hindu Mitakshara property as the share they would receive if the property were partitioned immediately before their demise.
Recalling SC's judgment in 2011
In the 2011 judgment, the SC emphasized that a child's birth in voidable or void marriages should be viewed independently of the parents' relationship, reported the Hindustan Times. The division bench of Justices (retired) GS Singhvi and AK Ganguly wrote, "A child born in such a relationship is innocent and is entitled to all rights which are given to other children born in valid marriage. This is the crux of the amendment in Section 16(3)."
