Mother Cannot Relinquish Right of Minor Daughter Telangana High Court Affirms Equal Property Rights"

In a landmark judgment, the High Court of Telangana has affirmed the equal property rights of daughters, stating that "Mother cannot relinquish the right of minor daughter." The ruling came in response to a partition suit filed by two daughters against their father, seeking their rightful share in ancestral property.

The case revolved around the alleged payment of Rs.30,000/- to the mother by the defendant and the purported relinquishment of the daughters' share. The defendant argued that the payment constituted a permanent alimony and that the mother had relinquished her minor daughters' right to their share in his properties.

However, the High Court emphasized the significance of the 2005 amendment to Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, which granted equal rights to daughters in ancestral property. The court held that the mother could not unilaterally relinquish the share of her minor children without their consent, particularly without a registered relinquishment deed.

In its judgment, the High Court stated, "The plea of an oral partition or memorandum of partition, unregistered, cannot be entertained. Unless a registered instrument has been executed and acted upon and the same has been proven in a Court of law through public documents, no plea of relinquishment or partition can be set up to deny the share of a coparcener."

The ruling underscores the importance of upholding the property rights of daughters and ensuring that any such transactions are carried out through legally valid means.

This judgment aligns with previous decisions by the Supreme Court and High Courts, reinforcing the principle that daughters are entitled to an equal share of ancestral property and that such rights cannot be casually relinquished.

Date of Decision: 05 September 2023

T Vijaya vs Turkapalli Mahhiah