DHARMASHASTRA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

JABALPUR

SUBJECT : Transfer of property act

TOPIC : Doctrine of Acceleration

SUBMITTED TO : SUBMITTED BY :
Mr. Ashit Shrivastava Ankit Dhurve
Asst. Prof. of Law BAL/088/19
Section – B

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 TABLE OF CONTENT

Introduction………………………………………………………….04
An Overview of Conditional Transfer………………………………04
Doctrine Of Acceleration……………………………………………05
Types of Conditions on transfer……………………………………..06
Provisions related to Doctrine of acceleration………………………07
Judgements related to doctrine of acceleration……………………...09
Conclusion…………………………………………………………...11

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I have taken efforts in project in this project. However, it would not have been possible without
the kind and support of many. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to all of them. First of
all, I would like to express my special thanks to our Vice Chancellor Sir Prof. (Dr.) V. Nagaraj
for letting me work on such a wonderful topic.

I am highly indebted to my teacher Mr. Ashit Shrivastava for his guidance and constant
supervision as well as for providing necessary information regarding the project and in
completion of the work.

I would like to express my gratitude towards my parents for their kind co-operation and
encouragement which helped me in completion of this project.

Much Obliged
Ankit Dhurve
BAL/088/19

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 INTRODUCTION

Prior to 1882, when the current statute was enacted, the transfer of immovable property in India
was governed by equity principles. The majority of the provisions of the Act of 1882 were
based on judgements of the Court of Equity made prior to 1884. The courts were sometimes
forced to determine cases based on their own notions of justice and fairness.

To address the situation, an English law panel was created to draught a substantive law code
for property transfers in India. Since the 1882 passage of the Transfer of Property Act, this has
been the case. Its provisions have been changed a total of 12 times. Whitley Stokes introduced
it on July 1, 1882, and it went into effect on July 1, 1882. Essentially, the Act was read twice,
once in 1877 and again in 1882.

The primary goal of the Transfer of Property Act of 1882 is to alter, regulate, and define the
law governing the transfer of property and the parties involved. The Act regulates the transfer
of immovable property between living persons in a consistent and methodical manner. The
sections comprise numerous theories such as the doctrine of cypress, the doctrine of
acceleration, and the doctrine of part performance, among others, in order to make it an efficient
regulation1.

An Overview of Conditional Transfer :

Conditional transfer is directly addressed in Section 25 of the Transfer of Property Act of 1882,
although it is also addressed in one form or another in Sections 26 to 34. Conditional Transfers
are generated when interest is created on a property transfer that is tied to the fulfilment of a
condition. A condition is something that makes the existence of a right contingent on the
occurrence or nonoccurrence of an event. Also, there are two types of conditions: condition
antecedent and condition subsequent, which are set forth in Sections 26 and 29 of the same
legislation, respectively.

The term "condition precedent" refers to when the vesting of an interest is postponed until an
event occurs. Vesting of an interest refers to when someone acquires an interest in a property,
and it is a condition that must be met before the property can be transferred. Thus, condition

1
https://www.legalserviceindia.com

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fulfilment comes first, followed by interest vesting, whereas condition subsequent involves
interest vesting first, followed by condition fulfilment.

However, it should be remembered that the condition should not be void, as this will result in
void transfer. It should also not be impossible, prohibited by law, or contrary to public policy.
There is also a section that deals with specific conditions.

When it comes to conditional transfers, the Doctrine of Acceleration comes into play because
it is one of the important doctrines specified under Section 27 of the Transfer of Property Act,
1882.2

Doctrine Of Acceleration :-

Acceleration basically means a shortening of time until some event takes place . Doctrine of
Acceleration basically talks about conditional transfer to at least one person including transfer
to a different person with a condition ,as per Sec 27 of Transfer of Property Act , conditional
transfer to one person coupled with transfer to another on failure of prior disposition , the
ulterior disposition shall become on failure of prior disposition ( Ismail Haji v. Umar
Abdulla )3

When an interest in property is created in the name of one person on a transfer and an ulterior
disposition of the same interest is made in the name of another on the same transaction, if the
prior disposition under the transfer fails, the ulterior disposition takes effect upon the failure of
the prior disposition, even if the failure did not occur in the manner intended by the transferor.

But, where the intention of the parties to the transaction is that the ulterior disposition shall
become only within the event of the prior disposition failing during a particular manner , the
ulterior disposition shall not become unless the prior disposition fails therein manner

The doctrine of acceleration generally states that if a person has the lawful right to require
possession of property at some future time, that right may be accelerated if that person loses
his or her right to the property.

If a life estate fails for any reason, the remainder is accelerated as the life interest that fails or
ends sooner, accelerating the interest of the remaining beneficiaries, who then take their interest

2
Aashima, The Doctrine of acceleration, Legalservice india, https://www.legalserviceindia.com/
3
Ismail Haji v. Umar Abdulla AIR [1942] Bom 155

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at that earlier time rather than on the tenant's death for all times. Furthermore, under the
doctrine of acceleration, the final beneficiary will receive property as a result of the mediator's
death, fault, or other circumstances.

Prior interest has the effect of accelerating the next which are restricted to requiring impact on
the regular determination of that prior interest; the court interprets the gist of such interest as
intended to demand action on the failure or determination of prior interest in whatever manner

It also depicts a scenario in which two interests are created in the same transaction and the
earlier interest fails for some cause not planned or reasonably foreseen by the transferors,
resulting in the creation of a subsequent interest.

For Example:-

A agreed to give B his property. The property will be passed to C if B meets specific
conditions; if he does not, the property will be given to C.

A disposition in favour of C will be valid if A transfers Rs 12000 to B on the condition that B

executes the lease after A's death after 3 months4.

Types of Conditions on transfer :-

There are a variety of different conditions that can be applied to a

A transfer of property is subject to three sorts of conditions, with other types available. All of
these circumstances must also meet all of the conditions set forth in Section 25 of the 1882
Transfer of Property Act.

Condition Precedent –

It is given in Section 26 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882. Any condition that is required
to be fulfilled before the transfer of any property is called a condition precedent. This condition
is not to be strictly followed and the transfer can take place even when there has been

4
Transfer of Property Act , 1882 s 27

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substantial compliance of the condition. For example, A is ready to transfer his property to B
on the condition that he needs to take the consent of X, Y and Z before marrying. Z dies and
afterward, B takes the consent of X and Y so the transfer can take place as there has been
substantial compliance. These facts were from a case of Dawson v. Oliver-Massey

In the landmark case of Wilkinson v. Wilkinson, the condition where one party was required
to desert her husband for the transfer to go through, this was held by the court as invalid as it
was against public policy.

Condition Subsequent –

It is given in Section 29 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882. Any condition that is required
to be fulfilled after the transfer of any property is called condition subsequent. This condition
is to be strictly complied with and the transfer will happen only after the completion of such
condition. For example, A transfers any property ‘X’ to B on the condition that he has to score
above 75 percent in his university exams. If B fails to achieve 75 percent marks then the transfer
will break down and the property will revert back to A.

Although it is an essential requirement that the condition needs to lawful and if it is not then
the condition will be held as void and the transfer will not break down and will be finalized.
For example, A transfers the property to B on the condition that he shall murder C. This
condition is void and hence transfer will go through and the property will be kept by B.

Condition Collateral –

Any condition that is required to be fulfilled simultaneously after the transfer of any property
is called condition collateral. It needs to be strictly followed otherwise the transfer will break
down. For example, A transfers property ‘X’ to B on the condition that he shall maintain A’s
wife C for a period of 10 years. If B complies with it and maintains C, the transfer will be valid
and the property will be in the possession of B.

Also it has been recently clarified by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in a case in 2018, in case of
a conditional gift where there was no recital of acceptance and no proof or any sign of
acceptance. If the possession of that gift is with the donor for his lifetime and it is not completed
during his lifetime. The deed of gift might be cancelled at the option of the donor as it has not

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violated any principles required in a valid transfer of property and the donor is within his rights
to cancel any gift deed of such kind5.

Provisions related to Doctrine of acceleration :-

• Section 30 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 provides that any transfer will not be
affected by the invalidity of the ulterior disposition, which means that is the subsequent
transaction as it is rendered void because of some default, then the first transaction will
not be held invalid because of it6.

For example - If X transfers land to Y and then a life interest to his male offspring following
his marriage. Because Section 13 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, bans any life interest
created in favour of the unborn, the transfer to the male offspring is invalid. The content of
Section 30 is that even if the subsequent disposition (transfer to an unborn son) is invalid, the
transfer to B will be unaffected.

• Section 31 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 states that any transfer where the
condition of happening of an event or not happening of an event takes place is applied,
the transfer shall cease to have an effect. The condition mentioned in this section is a
condition subsequent and not a conditional limitation which is in favour of any third
party. This condition is given in a negative sense, as the transferor prescribes when the
transfer shall cease to have effect7.

For example - A can put a condition on B to plant a tree and then the transfer will have an
effect. If B plants, then he will get the property.

In the case of Ambika Charan v. Sasitara 8, it was held that even condition collateral is a valid
condition under the application of Section 31 and in this case, one party was required to live at
a particular residence and as long as this condition is fulfilled, the transfer shall continue to
have an effect.

5
Nishant Vimal ,Detailed Study on Conditional Transfers under Transfer of Property Act, 1882,(May 25, 2019),
https://blog.ipleaders.in/

6
Transfer of Property Act , 1882 s 30
7
Transfer of Property Act , 1882 s 31
8
Ambika Charan v. Sasitara (1915) 22 Cal LJ 61

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Even where the condition where there is a prescribed penalty, it can be extracted by way of
compensation, for example for forfeiting an estate, compensation can be demanded.

Section 32 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 states that the condition mentioned in Section
31 should not be invalid or prohibited by law. Although Section 30 is also kept in mind that
any condition in ulterior disposition which is invalid will not invalidate any transfer that
happened prior to it. As for condition precedent or subsequent, for the transfer to be valid the
conditions need not be invalid and all the requirements mentioned in Section 25 should be met9.

Section 33 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 states about any transfer where on a condition,
time is not specified for the happening or non-happening of an act. This transfer ceases to have
effect only when the act is made to be impossible permanently or for a great period of time10.

Section 34 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 states about any transfer where on a condition,
time is specified for the happening or non-happening of an act and on the failure of such
condition, the interest of the property is to go to another person. If the condition is fulfilled
within the prescribed time, then the transfer will continue to have effect, and if not then the
transfer shall cease to have an effect. For example, M agrees to transfer land ‘X’ to N on the
condition that he shall go to England in a span of 2 months. If N goes to England within the
prescribed time period then the transfer shall go through and N shall get the property, but if he
fails to do so inside the 2 months specified by M, the transfer shall cease to have effect11.

But, it has to been seen that, what caused the delay of the condition to be fulfilled. If the
performance of the specified condition that may be either subsequent or precedent is prevented
by a person who is interested in its non-fulfilment, the delay is condoned and the condition is
discharged.

For Example - X transfers property to Y with a condition that if he does not go to U.S. within
2 years, the property will pass on to Z. Later on if Z, by playing a fraud, prevents Y from
performing the condition, the delay in such performance is excused.

9
Transfer of Property Act , 1882 s 32

10
Transfer of Property Act , 1882 s 33

11
Transfer of Property Act , 1882 s 34

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Judgements related to doctrine of acceleration :

Moti Raiji vs Laldas Jibhai – It was held that, Holding as we do that there has been
no acceleration here, it amounts to this and no more than that there has been an alienation of
two-thirds of the property to reversioners, and we are unable to draw any distinction between
an alienation to a reversioner and an alienation to a third person. If the alienation be in any true
sense an alienation, then it must be governed by the general law which requires for the
validation of all such alienations, legal necessity, and we have already, we think, given
sufficient reasons for holding that in this case legal necessity cannot be said even to be alleged,
much less proved, while the doctrine of acceleration will not assist the plaintiffs. The
conclusion we have come to upon the whole case is that the defendant 2, appellant here, is
entitled to resist the plaintiffs' claim, as the adopted son, that he is entitled to allege that the
widow's alienation of 1893 under the award was not for legal necessity, and as such became
void against him at the moment of his adoption. He is therefore now, in our opinion, entitled
to have that alienation set aside in his favour. We must therefore allow the appeal and dismiss
the plaintiffs' claim with all costs12.

V.S. Mani vs Commissioner Of Gift-Tax on 19 June, 1979 –

Further, if the doctrine of acceleration has to be applied here as a result of the execution of the
document of release, then as a legal consequence each of the three individuals would get a
present interest with reference to 1/3 share in each of the properties bequeathed by the testator.
That has not happened in the present case and there was a conferment of an interest in and by
the document only in respect of particular properties. This result cannot be described as
acceleration. Even though release can be partial and need not cover all the properties
bequeathed, still in order to bring the transaction within the scope of the principle of
acceleration, it must be in favour of all the remaindermen and cannot be partial with reference
only to a few of them. It is in that context that the court had to examine whether there was
transfer of property where there was acceleration of interest of the remaindermen as a result of
the surrender by the life estate holder. It was held that there was no transfer of property. The
main point to be noted in that case is that the surrender was in favour of the entire body of the
remaindermen and not in favour of any chosen individuals who formed a part of the said body.
That case was such as to fall within the doctrine of acceleration as discussed above.13

12
Moti Raiji vs Laldas Jibhai (1916) 18 BOMLR 954
13
V.S. Mani vs Commissioner Of Gift-Tax 1980 123 ITR 414 Mad

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 Conclusion

Conditional Transfers form a very crucial aspect in day to day transactions of transfer of
property. It is important to know about provisions relating to this concept. All types of
conditional transfers are given from Section 25 – 34 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882. It
is important to note that the condition on any transfer should not be prohibited by law and can
be ideally performed. This article conveys the basic principles and mechanisms behind these
provisions, and how they fare out with practical examples that will help the reader relate it with
the real time events.

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