Hindu Succession Act, 1956
Section 14—Property of a female Hindu to be her absolute property—Hindu woman’s right to maintenance is a tangible right against property which flows from spiritual relationship between husband and wife—Such right was recognized and enjoined under the Shastric Hindu Law, long before the passing of the 1937 and the 1946 Acts—Where a Hindu widow is found to be in exclusive settled legal possession of the HUF property, that itself would create a presumption that such property was earmarked for realization of her pre-existing right of maintenance, more particularly when the surviving co-parcener did not earmark any alternative property for recognizing her pre-existing right of maintenance—Word “possessed by” and “acquired” used in Section 14(1) are of the widest amplitude and include the state of owning a property—It is by virtue of Section 14(1) of the Act of 1956, that the Hindu widow’s limited interest gets automatically enlarged into an absolute right, when such property is possessed by her whether acquired before or after the commencement of 1956 Act in lieu of her right to maintenance—High Court had rightly held that widow had pre-existing right to maintenance in the suit property that had ripened into full ownership by virtue of Section 14(1) of the Hindu Succession Act.
[Paras 20 & 21]