Sister Wins Father’s Property After 30-Year Legal Battle: SC Clarifies Gift Deed Vs Will

In a recent judgement, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of a sister fighting a legal battle with her brother for 30 years to get the property their father gave her under a gift deed. The case became complex because her father cancelled the gift deed.

In 1993, her father revoked the registered deed that transferred the property to her and subsequently signed a sale deed making her brother the sole owner of the property, according to a report by the Economic Times.  

What Is The Case?

It started when the father made a registered deed gifting the family property to his daughter with a condition to possess it only after the death of both parents. However, in 1993, the father cancelled it and signed a sale deed with his son, giving him full possession and making him the sole owner of the property.

Knowing this, the daughter filed a case in the trial court in Kerala in 1994. In 1995, her father died. However, the case continued. In 2001, the trial court ruled in favour of her brother, which she challenged in a fast-track court and received the same ruling in 2003.

Next year, she approached the Kerala High Court, where, in 2019, the court ruled in her favour.

Then, in 2023, the brother challenged the high court order in the Supreme Court. In 2025, the Supreme Court held the high court ruling in its judgement, clarifying the difference between a Will and a gift deed.

Arguments Of The Parties:

• The brother challenged the high court order, arguing that in 1985 their father executed a Will and that a Will can be cancelled, and the cancellation was valid.

• The sister argued that the document was a gift deed and cannot be cancelled unilaterally. She contented that the cancelled deed is void, and she is the rightful owner. 

Difference Between Gift Deed/Settlement And Will:

The Supreme Court, in its judgement, clarified the difference between a Will and a gift deed or settlement.

The court underscored that to ascertain whether a document is a Will or a gift, the key factor to consider is the disposition of the asset. It is important to assess whether the interest in property or asset is transferred to the beneficiary in the present time or if it will be transferred only after the settlors’ demise.

"There must be a transfer of interest in praesenti for a gift or a settlement and in case of postponement of such transfer until the death of the testator, the document is to be treated as a will”, the court explained.

It also added that the delivery of possession is not a mandatory condition to validate a gift. It also added that registering a document cannot be ‘the sole ground to discard the contents and to treat the document as a gift, just because the law does not require a will to be registered’.

The court further clarified the difference between a gift deed and a settlement.

It said that a gift is voluntarily something given voluntarily without any consideration. For a gift to be valid, it must be accepted during the donor's lifetime and if the gift is an immovable property, it must be registered. It is important to note that for a gift to be considered valid under the law, acceptance is required, but possession is not mandatory.

However, when something is given voluntarily out of love and care, where the rights to the property are immediately transferred while reserving the donor’s/transferor’s life interest, it is considered a settlement.

Final Judgement:

Reportedly the court noted that the deed was created with an immediate transfer of interest to the daughter, who accepted the gift while the transferor was still alive. This situation satisfies the conditions outlined in Section 122 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882.

Section 122 Of The Transfer Of Property Act, 1882:

According to the act, “Gift” is the transfer of certain existing moveable or immoveable property made voluntarily and without consideration, by one person, called the donor, to another, called the donee, and accepted by or on behalf of the done”.

It also tells about gift acceptance to make them valid.

“Acceptance when to be made.—

• Such acceptance must be made during the lifetime of the donor and while he is still capable of giving.

• If the donee dies before acceptance, the gift is void”. 

The court ruled that as the transferor reserved a life interest in the gifted property, the document should be classified as a settlement deed rather than a Will.

The court upheld the high court's decision, which was in favour of the sister.