Illegitimate kids are entitled to their father’s estate, says SC

NEW DELHI: An illegitimate child can inherit the property left behind by his or her father though the ‘mother’ has no right on the estate. The ruling widens the scope of the Hindu Succession Act.

In a case from Andhra Pradesh, a married man tied the knot with another woman. From her he had two children. He died and a few years later his first wife also passed
away.

The second wife sought eviction from the house occupied by her late husband. The nephews said since her marriage with their uncle was 'void' or illegal, she couldn't lay claim on their house for which they had been paying rent to her.

But, the woman made her children the petitioners. The trial court held that the woman had no right to seek eviction as she had no right to inherit her husband's property.

But, it held that children were the owners of the house and land left behind by their father.

The HC also added that a tenant who has defaulted on rent can't challenge ownership of the property by the landlord. Only on this ground, the nephews were asked to vacate the premises.

Aggrieved by this verdict, the nephews moved the Supreme Court laying claim on the property on of their late uncle saying since he died issueless, they had inherited it under the Hindu Succession Act.

A Bench of Justices Arijit Pasayat and Tarun Chatterjee   said even assuming, the marriage between their late uncle and the mother of two daughters cannot be treated as a valid, but the children would be entitled to succeed to the properties belonging to their father.