Woman cannot claim right over property of in-laws, rules court

A woman has a right over the property of her husband but she cannot claim a right to live in the house of her parents-in-law, a Delhi court has said. The court made the observation while dismissing an appeal of a woman, who is a doctor in a government hospital here, seeking right of residence in her mother-in-law's house in which her husband does not have any share.

"If it is anybody against whom or against whose property she (woman) can assert her rights, is the husband, but under no circumstances can she thrust herself on the parents of her husband or can claim a right to live in their house against their consult and wishes," Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau said. The court said she is a working woman and being a doctor, she is in a position to maintain herself. "Keeping in view the problems and disputes between the parties, allowing the woman to stay in her parents-in-law's house against their wishes would only aggravate the existing domestic problems and create numerous hassles for these senior citizens, which this court will not permit," the judge said. The court also said even if the woman was permitted by her parents-in-law to live in their house, it does not create any legal right, violation of which would be actionable. On the contrary, under no circumstances the parents can be made to suffer the burdens of their sons and their estranged daughters-in-law, it said. The court's observations came while dealing with the appeal of the woman who had contended that her mother-in-law had abused and misused the process of law by making false submissions. She challenged the trial court's order saying it did not appreciate the fact that her mother-in-law had in connivance with her husband dispossessed her from shared household accommodation in Pitampura. She had sought to set aside the trial court's order dismissing her plea seeking right to residence in the house owned by her mother-in-law. The sessions court noted that the woman's husband was working and residing separately in Chandigarh for the past several years.

http//www.firstpost.com/india/woman-cannot-claim-right-over-property-of-in-laws-rules-court-1234413.html 

How to get property with a clear and marketable title

During the process of acquisition of property, taking a legal opinion is an important constituent of the due diligence exercise. Legal opinion is the opinion given by a legal expert on the property transaction. The knowledge of individuals on the nitty gritties involved in the property acquisition is limited. Property acquisition is a complicated process. There are number of laws, rules and regulations covering property transactions. An ideal and reliable source of legal opinion is an advocate who specializes in property matters.

Getting the legal opinion is all the more important in case you are planning to purchase an old property, that is a property from an existing owner rather than a property developer or builder. There may be many issues. The property may be held jointly, or the seller may not have proper title or authority to sell the property. The property may have already been sold by the seller or it may be encumbered, that is a charge already created on the property.

It is difficult for an individual purchaser to check out on all these areas. As such, it is better to take the services of an expert in the matter. Although a purchaser can do an initial review of the documents checked by legal expert.

Scanning through property documents is a complex process. Land records are generally in a local language. The purchaser needs to go through a number of documents to trace the ownership of the property. The legal experts are better placed to review and give their opinion on the status of the property.They can be asked to prepare a search report.

The search report traces the history of the property, that is who the original owners of the property were and how it has been transferred over time before reaching the present seller. It also traces out any charges or encumbrances created on the property and the present status, That is whether the charges have been paid and the property released or if there are some charges pending. This search on the title of the property is for a period of the past 30 years.

A seller should annex a copy of this report to the ‘agreement for sale’ with the intended purchaser of the property. It would state whether or not there is any existing mortgage, litigation, condition or claim, which is likely to affect the title of the buyer adversely.

A legal opinion covers details regarding the status of the property, such as who the legal owner of the property is, what has been the chain of holding and transfer of property, whether the property is free from encumbrances, whether the property has been already offered as a security for loan, is there any dispute on the ownership of the property, whether the seller has complied with all the requirements for getting the ownership of the property, whether the seller is competent to transfer the property etc.

In case you want to avail a housing loan, the title of the property should be clear and marketable, that is the seller should be the genuine and actual owner of the property. Also, the property should not be under any dispute or litigation.

A search report and title certificate can be obtained from an advocate who will conduct a survey of the title of the property by visiting the office of registrar. A legal opinion reduces the chances of getting into disputes at later stage. It acts as a safety device for purchasers.

In case you are getting the property purchase financed by bank, generally the bank will obtain a legal opinion before sanctioning the loan. The bank will have its own legal experts who specialize in this field. The cost is nominal and is built up in the processing and administration charges applicable for sanctioning and disbursing the loan.

Source:,http://www.indianrealestateforum.com/buying/t-how-to-get-property-with-a-clear-and-marketable-title-752.html

Hindu Daughter's equal rights in ancestral - coparcenory property

Since this is an area of profound concern these days, and I’ve been facing endless queries on this, here is a basic & overly simplistic layman’s view on the law as it was before 2005 and after it vis-a-vis daughter’s right in joint family/coparcenary/ancestral properties among Hindus in India.  

 

Concept of Joint Family in a nutshell

 

We all are aware of the concept of a Joint Family – wherein people related by blood/marriage descending from a common ancestor form a unit, live, work, worship together. This includes all sorts of people, sons/daughters (married, widowed or otherwise), mother, widows of sons etc. All these people have right to maintenance out of joint family properties and assets. 

 

The Coparcenary

 

Within this group there is a narrower group called the coparcenaory, with it’s constituents being referred to as the coparcenars have birth rights (ownership) in the joint family/ancestral properties, which they can get culled out anytime by a partition, they have the right to sell/gift/will away their share of the property, they also have the power to assail any wrongful transfer of property made by Karta (Karta, for those who arrived late is the eldest lineal member of the family, entrusted with task of managing the property, Karta has the power to even alienate the whole of property in certain circumstantial compulsions). 

 

BEFORE 2005

 

Now before 2005 only son, son’s son, son’s son’s son were coparcenars, with the daughters only having a right to reside in the property and get their marriage expenses defrayed out of the same. A son would acquire proportionate ownership in the property moment of it’s conception, but not the girls.

 

POST 2005

 

Post 2005 – now a daughter also would acquire ownership rights on the property from the time of her conception (provided of course she is born alive). She has the same rights of partition and power to deal with the property as she pleases, this right extends to seeking a partition and sale of the family home as well. Hence there is a complete parity in terms of rights.  However it would be profitable to remind ourselves that these rights extend to only ancestral properties (or joint family properties – are properties which people inherit from their paternal ancestors/property through into common hotch potch/property acquired by joint family efforts/accretions etc) and not separate properties (which include property earned by gift/will/acquired through purchase from own funds/acquisitions from own skill etc.) 

 

But there is a rider - The right to get your equivalent share of the property can be exercised only in cases where there has been no formal partition (partition either through court final decree or through a registered partition deed) before 20.12.2004. In case a partition has already been finalized before the said date, the right collapses. 

 

HOW TO ASSERT YOUR RIGHT ? FILING A SUIT FOR PARTITION  

 

The Daughters (married, widowed or unmarried) now can approach the civil court for seeking a partition from their brothers/family/father etc. Their right is equal. Once acquired a lady is free to deal with the property the way she likes and it becomes her absolute property and her children have no right during her lifetime. 

 

A Daughter can file a suit for partition, on which certain court fees is payable. This court fee depends on the value of her share in the property and has to be calculated as per court fee chart. 

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