Summary of this article
Six half-sisters granted equal property shares.
Relinquishment deed affected only father's share.
Court reaffirmed daughters’ inheritance rights.
In a recent dispute related to property that reached the Andhra Pradesh High Court, a son challenged the inheritance claims of his six half-sisters. The dispute concerned the ancestral property of Turangi Somraju, who owned the residential land and a vacant lot.
What Is The Case?
Somraju’s son was born from his first marriage with another female heir from the same marriage, while the other six daughters were born from his second marriage. After disagreements rose over the division of the property, the daughters sought their share in the assets. However, Somraju’s son opposed their claim, stating they had no rights over the property.
His claim was backed by a relinquishment deed stating that his father wanted the deed to be executed in his favour and did not leave anything to the six daughters in inheritance. The matter was taken to court by the daughters seeking partition and recognition of their share in the ancestral property.
Why Is This Unusual?
This case gathered attention as this dispute was not just about property division. It is also about the inheritance rights of daughters born to second marriages. In this specific case, the son of the deceased questioned the entitlement of his half-sisters and tried to exclude them from the succession process altogether.
The key issue before the court was whether this deed could seize the rights of the daughters in the ancestral property. The son argued that the father had surrendered the property in his favour, and the daughters don’t have any claim now. The case has highlighted a common misconception which arises mostly during disputes related to inheritance: that a parent can transfer or relinquish rights over the entire ancestral property.
What Was the Ruling?
The Andhra Pradesh High Court upheld the rights of the daughters and dismissed the appeal by the son of the deceased. As per a report by The Economic Times, the findings of the lower appellate court had directed that the ancestral property should be divided among all eight heirs. The court held that the property was ancestral in nature and all legal heirs have a rightful share in it. It is observed that even if the father had executed a relinquishment deed, the document only affects his share of the property. It does not take away or transfer the whole property to the son. Furthermore, the court also ruled that the father had acknowledged the birth of his six daughters, and there was no need to deny them their legal entitlement.
As a result, the court had ordered that the property be divided into eight equal shares among the eight offspring. The ruling reinforces the principle that a parent cannot surrender or transfer the inheritance rights of legal heirs in ancestral property and highlights that daughters have equal rights to stake a claim.
