Succession to Hindu Widow’s Property -- Limited Interest Held Before 1956 -- Becomes absolute ownership under Section 14(1)
(i) Hindu Succession Act, 1956, S.14(1) -- Succession to Hindu Widow’s Property -- Limited Interest Held Before 1956 -- Property possessed by a Hindu woman in which she has a legally recognised interest is held by her as full owner and not as limited owner, subject to statutory requirements and exceptions -- Statutory phrase “as full owner thereof and not as limited owner” extinguishes the traditional concept of a limited or Hindu widow’s estate and invests her with absolute dominion -- Limited interest subsisting on the date the Act comes into force transforms into absolute ownership. (ii) Delhi Land Reforms Act, 1954, S.51(2) -- Succession to Bhumidhar’s Property -- Personal Law Applicable Date of Death -- Expression “personal law” in this section is a general referential term that is not frozen at the date of enactment -- Deciding words governing devolution are “in accordance with the personal law applicable to her,” keyed to the trigger word “dies,” which is in the present tense -- Personal law applicable on the date of the Bhumidhar’s demise governs succession, not the law as it stood when she was recognised as Bhumidhar.
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