Properties Acquired By Gift During Marriage Remain Separate Property Of Spouse Under French Civil Code; Husband Entitled To Half Share Only In Community Assets: Madras High Court

"Property falls into community, unless otherwise stipulated, where a gratuitous transfer is made jointly to both spouses. Property surrendered or transferred by the father, mother or other ascendant to one of the spouses... remain separate property, subject to reimbursement." Madras High Court, in a significant ruling, held that properties acquired by either spouse through gift or settlement during the marriage remain their exclusive separate property under the French Civil Code and do not form part of community assets unless expressly stipulated.

A division bench comprising Justice N. Sathish Kumar and Justice M. Jothiraman partly allowed an appeal, ruling that while a husband who is a "Renoncant" is entitled to a half share in general community properties, he cannot claim a share in properties settled on the wife by her mother.

The litigation arose from a partition suit filed by a husband against his former wife in respect of five items of property in Puducherry. The parties, governed by the French Code Civil as Renoncants, divorced following matrimonial disputes. The trial court had granted a preliminary decree allotting a half share to the husband across all suit properties, prompting the wife to challenge the decision before the High Court.

The primary questions before the court were whether the plaintiff was a Renoncant governed by French law, whether properties purchased in the name of the wife's mother and later settled on the wife constituted benami transactions, and whether all suit properties formed part of community assets under the French Civil Code.

Plaintiff Established Status As Renoncant

The bench observed that the historical context of the Union Territory of Puducherry allows native inhabitants and their descendants who renounced personal laws to be governed by the French Code Civil. The court noted that the husband successfully proved his status as a Renoncant through ancestral records and judicial admissions made by the wife herself in earlier divorce and partition proceedings.

"Wife Estopped From Denying Husband's Status"

The court noted that the wife had expressly pleaded in her previous divorce petition under Articles 233 and 242 of the French Code Civil that her husband was a Renoncant. Having reaped the benefit of French law to dissolve her marriage, she could not turn around and approbate and reprobate by denying his status in the partition suit.

Bar Under Section 4 Of The Benami Act

Examining the title of Item Nos. 1 and 2, the court noted that the properties were originally purchased in the name of the wife's mother through power of attorney and subsequently settled upon the wife. The bench held that the plaintiff's plea of benami against his mother-in-law was barred under Section 4 of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988, as there was no pleading or proof that she held the property as a trustee or in a fiduciary capacity.

"Gifted Properties Remain Separate"

Referring to Articles 1402 and 1405 of the French Code Civil, the bench emphasized that immovable property acquired by way of succession, gift, or legacy during the marriage remains the separate property of the donee spouse unless the instrument expressly states it belongs to the community. Since the settlement deeds executed by the mother-in-law contained no such stipulation, Item Nos. 1 and 2 remained the absolute separate properties of the wife.

Court Explains Scope Of Community Property

The bench clarified that while properties acquired during the subsistence of marriage generally form part of community assets under French law, exceptions apply strictly to gratuitous transfers and gifts. Although the husband and wife had jointly availed bank loans for commercial improvements, the lack of specific evidence regarding the exact monetary contribution precluded the husband from claiming title over the land itself.

Concluding the legal analysis, the High Court set aside the trial court's preliminary decree granting a half share to the husband in Item Nos. 1 and 2 of the suit properties. However, the court confirmed the half-share allotment in favor of the husband in respect of Item Nos. 3 to 5, which constituted valid community assets under the French Code Civil.

Date of Decision: 29 July 2026