Property & Succession

Unregistered sale agreements, while not transferring ownership, are admissible as evidence in a suit for specific performance to establish the existence of a contract. This admissibility is governed by the interplay between Section 17 and Section 49 of the Registration Act. However, such agreements cannot be used to claim ownership or title to the property without a decree for specific performance, as held by the High Court of Kerala in Shaju v. Victory Granite Bricks Pvt. Ltd. & Another [2025:KER:45599].

The mutation of the property and acceptance of land tax done under the Transfer of Registry Rules, 1966 (in Kerala) will, by itself, neither create or extinguish the title, nor has it any presumptive value on the title. The mutation or paying land tax only enables the person in whose favour mutation has been effected to pay the land tax in question.

A legal heir, such as the wife, son daughter etc, has no right in the self-acquired property of any of his/her parents so long as they are alive. The owner of the self-acquired property can dispose of the self-acquired property in any manner he wishes to do.

The period of limitation for trying to regain title and recover the possession of the suit property by seeking to get the sale deed set aside would be three years, but not twelve years, says the Supreme Court (SC) in its judgement in Mallavva & Anr. v Kalsammanavara Kalamma (Since Dead) By Legal Heirs & Ors. [ 2024 INSC 1021.

Who is the legitimate claimant when the bank deposit/insurance amount of a deceased person is claimed simultaneously by both the nominee on the one hand and the legal heir on the other? The laws have no specific provision to differentiate between legitimacy of a nominee and a legal heir in receiving the deposit/insurance amount of the deceased person. But a few case laws shed light on the issue.

Even if the second marriage of a Hindu under Hindu Marriage Act is held to be void, the children born out of the void wedlock are also entitled for terminal benefits of the deceased, says Kerala High Court in Anita v Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd.

A valid gift, which cannot normally be revoked, can be revoked under specified eventualities enumerated in Section 126 of the Transfer of Property Act 1882, says the Supreme Court (SC) in Tajuddin v Tamil Nadu Khadi and Village Industries Board (2024 (6) KLT SN 14 SC].