Under the Indian Succession Act of 1925, the assets of a man who dies without leaving a will are divided between his widow and children, the Madras High Court (HC) has ruled. The mother of the deceased has no right in the properties of her late son, the high court clarified while giving its judgment in a recent case.
The mother is entitled to get a share in her late son’s property only in the absence of his surviving wife and children, the two-judge bench of Justice R Subramanian and Justice N Senthilkumar ruled.
The HC allowed a 2019 appeal by a Christian widow and her daughter, who had moved the higher court against a district court order that allowed the mother of the late man to have half the share in his property.
“As per the rules under Section 33 and 33-A, where a Christian dies intestate leaving behind a widow and lineal descendants, 1/3rd of the property would go to the widow and remaining 2/3rd will go to the lineal descendants,” it said while delivering its verdict on an appeal filed by one Agnes alias Karpaga Devi and her minor daughter.
The Indian Succession Act governs the rights of Parsis, Christians and Jews in the country. The Hindu Succession Act is applicable on Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists and the Muslim Personal Law is applicable on Muslims.
Under Section 33 of the Indian Succession Act, one-third of the property of a man who dies intestate (the state of dying without leaving a Will) shall belong to his widow, and the remaining two-thirds shall go to his lineal descendants. If he has left no lineal descendant but has left persons who are kindred to him, one-half of his property shall belong to his widow, and the other half shall go to those who are kindred to him, says Section 33(B) of the Act.
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