The Hindu : National : Murderer-son, family lose inheritance right

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Wednesday, May 18, 2005

National

National

Murderer-son, family lose inheritance right

Legal Correspondent

`Once son is disinherited, then his whole stock stands disinherited' The framers of the HSA made it clear that a murderer was not to be regarded as the stock of a fresh line of descent but should be regarded as non-existent

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has ruled that a son, who murders his father, loses, along with his wife and children, the right of inheritance to the property of the victim.

A Bench, comprising Justice Ashok Bhan and Justice A.K. Mathur, was dismissing a petition filed by the wife of a son who killed his father.

"Once the son is totally disinherited, his whole stock stands disinherited, that is wife or son."

[Section 25 of the Hindu Succession Act disqualifies a person who commits murder or abets in the commission of the crime from inheriting the property of the slain person. Section 27 says: " If any person is disqualified from inheriting any property under this Act, it shall devolve as if such person had died before the intestate."]

R. Singaperumal, only son, murdered his father, Ramaswami Konar and became disentitled to his father's property. However, his wife, Vellikannu claimed the right of inheritance.She contended that as per Section 27 her husband must be deemed to have died. Hence she was entitled to her father-in-law's property as per Section 6 of the HSA by virtue of survivorship.

Rejecting the contention, the Bench said, "a person who has murdered a person through whom he wants to inherit the property stands disqualified on that account."

The effect of Sections 25 and 27 was that a murderer was totally disqualified to succeed to the estate of the deceased.

The framers of the Hindu Succession Act made it clear that a murderer was not to be regarded as the stock of a fresh line of descent but should be regarded as non-existent.

"That means a person who is guilty of committing the murder cannot be treated to have any relationship whatsoever with the deceased's estate," the Bench said.

Once the "son is totally disqualified, his wife who succeeds to the property through the husband cannot also lay claim to the property of her father in law," the Bench said.

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