Supreme Court: In a case where a widow claimed possession of a property mutated in her name on the basis of the oral gift from her husband before the enforcement of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, the bench of AM Khanwilkar and Ajay Rastogi, JJ said,
“Section 14(1) of the Act, 1956 clearly envisage that the possession of the widow, however, must be under some vestige of a claim, right or title or under any of the devise which has been purported under the law.”
The Court also explained the concept of mutation and said.
“the mutation of a property in the revenue records are fiscal proceedings and does not create or extinguish title nor has it any presumptive value on title. It only enables the person in whose favour mutation has been ordered, to pay the land revenue. At the same time, the effect of a declaratory decree to restore the property alienated to the estate of the alienor and until and unless the alienees are able to convince the court that they have no subsisting interest in the property, the heirs of the alienees would be entitled to the benefits of the property as per the law of succession.”
The Court, hence, held that in the instant case, the widow although was holding possession but not under any of the devise referred to under explanation to Section 14(1) of the Act, 1956 and mere possession would not confer preexisting right of possession over the subject property to claim full ownership rights after the Act, 1956 came into force by operation of law.
[Ajit Kaur v. Darshan Singh, 2019 SCC OnLine SC 470, decided on 04.04.2019]
