Principles of

Inheritance
 Glossary

Joint family/undivided family

An extended family arrangement consisting of
many generations living in the same home. It is
ordinarily joint, not only in estate but in food
and worship;
• Both Mitakshara & Dayabhaga Schools
recognise the joint family system but their
rules in the joint family are a bit different.
 Religious Efficacy

• In dayabhaga school the guiding principle of

inheritance is religious efficacy.
• The term religious efficacy means, a person will be
entitled to get inheritance based on the issues that
will confer religious benefits to the deceased
person. It means the person who can confer the
most religious benefits to the deceased will get
priority in inheritance.
 Illustration

• A dies leaving behind a son B and a brother, C. Here the

son will inherit the property of A, by excluding brother C
according to the principle of religious efficacy. Son can
confer the spiritual benefits to the father, thus he should
inherit in the order of precedent because of the religious
efficacy principle.
• Dayabhaga law of succession is based on the doctrine of
spiritual benefit and on consanguinity and propinquity.
Religious efficacy
The capacity for conferring spiritual benefit
on the manes of paternal and maternal
ancestors;
Consanguinity
Related by blood;
Propinquity
Proximity of relationship;
 Guiding principle under
Mitakshara School
• Consanguinity or blood relationship is main principle
to follow not religious efficacy.
• A person should inherit from the deceased based on the
nearer relations of blood with the person.
• In the previous illustration while following dayabhaga
law religious efficacy principle was followed to
determine successioner. Here in that illustration
consanguinity will be followed. As son is nearer than
brother, therefore the son should inherit.
 Different Rules of inheritance
for male and female
• Hindu male when inherits,takes the property
absolutely. Hindu female only enjoys limited
interest or, life interest in the property.
• In case of a male, the property devolves upon his
heirs, in case of a female, it reverts to the next heirs
of the person from whom she inherited the
property.
 Illustration

• ‘A’ a hindu male died leaving his widow, B and

brother, C. Here the widow will inherit the property
of A first. After the widow dies, C will inherit the
property absolutely.
Different Modes of Devolution
of Property under Two Schools
• Mitakshara school follows two modes of
devolution of the property. Namely,
1) Succession- applicable to separate property
2) Survivorship- applicable to joint family property
 Illustration

• ‘A’ is a hindu male, who dies leaving two types of

property, a) joint property b) separate property. A
left two heirs. B, his son and C, his brother. Here
the son will inherit the separate property following
the rule of succession and brother C will inherit the
joint property according to the ruke of
survivorship.
 Dayabhaga School

• Follows only the rule of succession in case of any

kind of property.
• Illustration: ‘A’ and ‘B’, are two Hindu brothers
governed by dayabhaga school. They are member of
a joint family. A dies leaving behind brother B and
widow C. A’s share in the joint family property shall
pass to the widow. She will also get the separate
property of her husband following rules of
succession.
 Three Types of Heirs under
Dayabhaga School
• Sapindas- who can offer pindas to the deceased and
to whom pinda is offered are sapindas of each
other.
• Sakulyas- who can offer pinda lepa and to whom
pinda lepa is offered are sakulyas of each other.
• Samonodakas- who can offer water and to whom
the water is offered are samonodakas of each other.
Sapinda-
In dayabhaga it indicates the
persons by whom and to whom
pindas are offered. Pinda is offered
to three immediate paternal and
three immediate maternal ancestors.
Sakulayas
Three generations from the great-great
grandfather up and from the great-great
grandson down; (4th, 5th, 6th paternal male
ancestors and 4th, 5th, 6th male descendants
in the male line.)

Samanodaka
The samanodakas of a person include all
his agnates from the 8th to 14th degree
(Atmaram v. Baitrao);
They are147 in number;
 Samonodakas

• Under Dayabhaga school, a Hindu is a

samonodakas of those:
a) To whom he is bound to offer libations of water
b) Who on his death are bound to offer libations of
water to him
Survivorship
The right to receive full title or ownership
due to having survived another person;

Succession
The passage of an individual's property to
one or more dependents according to law;
Limited Estate

 Female succeeding as heirs, whether to a male

or female, take a limited estate in the property;
 She becomes the owner, but with a limited
interest;
 She can enjoy, but cannot alienate the property;
 On her death, property goes back to the heir of
the person she succeeded.
Last “full” owner
One who held the property absolutely at
the time of his death.

Fresh stock of descent

An ancestor in whom a succession of
inheritance begins.
 Last full owners and Fresh
Stock of Descent
• The last full owner can create fresh stock of
descent.
• Creating a fresh stock of descent means the person
who can devolves the properry to his own heirs not
to the heirs of the person from who he inherited the
property.
• Generally a female cannot be the last full
owner(except in case of Stridhan) she cannot
become fresh stock of descent.
Doctrine of representation
A son or a grandson, whose father is
dead, and a great grandson, whose father
and grandfather are both dead, all
succeed simultaneously as one heir to the
property of their paternal ancestor.

(Grandson represents the rights of his

father to a share and the great grandson
represents the rights both of his father
and grandfather)
 Doctrine of Representation...

• This rule is not applicable to any other cases, such

as daughters and nephews.
• This rule is only applicable to four degrees from
the person whose property is distributed.
• Four grade: Deceased, son, grandson, great grand
son.
Spes Successionis

 The right of a person to succeed as heir

on the death of a Hindu is a bare chance
of succession; it does not confer any right
to the property.
 The right to succeed as an heir is a mere
or bare chance of succession. This mere
chance of inheritance is called ‘ Soes
successions’.
 It is not a vested interest; and
 He cannot make a valid transfer of it.
 Co-heirs

• When two or more persons inherit property together they are

called co-heirs and they take either as tenant in common or,
joint tenants.
• Tenant-in-common: A kind of tenant who has a defined share
in the joint property, which devolves upon his death to his
personal heirs.
• Joint tenants: Joint tenants have a unity of ownership in the
joint property. This unity is not distributed by the death of
any one of them. As a result his interest merges into the
interest of the other joint owners.
 Co-Heirs: Mitakshara School

Two or more persons inheriting jointly take as tenants-in-common

except the following four who take as joint tenants:
a) Two or more sons, grandsons, and great grandsons in a joint
family, succeeding to the separate of self acquired property of
their paternal ancestors;
b) Two or more grandsons by a daughter living as a joint family
and succeeding to the maternal grandfather;
c) Two or more widows succeeding their husband;
d) Two or more daughters succeeding their father;
 Co-Heirs: Dayabhaga school

Two or more persons inheriting jointly take as

tenants-in-common except
(1) Widows and
(2) Daughters.
 Female Heirs

Five female heirs:

1) Widow;
2) Daughter;
3) Mother;
4) Father’s mother; and
5) Father’s father’s mother.
Three more added by the Hindu Law of
Inheritance (Amendment) Act, 1929:
1) Son’s daughter;
2) Daughter’s daughter and
3) Sister.

Further addition by the Hindu Women’s Right to

Property Act, 1937:
4) Widow of a predeceased son; and
5) Widow of a predeceased son of a
predeceased son.
Per stripes- according to this manner of
distribution, the estate is divided
into equal shares, with one share allocated to
each living child of the decedent and one to
each predeceased child who has descendants
living at the decedent's death;

Per capita- all the living members of an

identified group will receive an equal share of
the decedent’s estate.
Heirs taking property per stripes

• Grandson by different sons

• Granddaughtersby different mothers
• Grandchildren succeeding to stridhan
• On a partition among them, the sons, Grand-sons,
great grand sons of the deceased take oer stripes
Heirs taking property per capita

• Daughter’s sons
• Brother‘s sons
• Uncle’s sons
• Sister’s sons
• Generally, persons related to the deceased take per capita which
means that the property is divided into as many shares as equal to the
numbers of heirs,each receivesone portion.
• When the property is divided among all the claimants entitled to it in
equal shares it is called per capita succession.
• Per stripes succession is applied when the number of heirs differs in
different branches. The several heirs belonging to different branches
get share from the property which is available to the branch to which
they belong.
• The heirs willtake the property per stripes and then will distribute the
property as per capita among themselves.
 Inheritance never in abeyance

• On the death of a Hindu, the right of succession

vests immediately to the nearest heir;
• In no circumstance it can remain in abeyance in
expectation of a preferable heir, not conceived at
the time of owner’s death;
• Where already vested, cannot be divested (except
conceived already).