Hyderabad: In a significant ruling, the Telangana High Court on Friday declared that children do not have inherent rights over property acquired by their mother, affirming her authority to gift such property to individuals of her choosing.
A bench comprising Justice Mousami Bhattacharya and Justice M.G. Priyadarshini pronounced the verdict in response to a petition filed by Bajranglal Agarwal. Bajranglal challenged a civil court's decision to uphold a gift settlement deed executed by his mother, Sushil Agarwal, in favour of her elder son.
The case revolved around one-third share of a house in Hyderabad's upscale Jubilee Hills area bought by Sushil Agarwal's husband in 1988 in her name. Following his death, Sushil Agarwal initially made a will sharing the property equally among her three sons. However, she later revoked this will and executed a gift settlement deed, transferring her share of the property to her eldest son.
Bajranglal Agarwal, the younger son, contested this decision, arguing that the property should be treated as joint family property and that he should be entitled to a one-third share. Representing Sushil Agarwal, her lawyer countered that since the property was bought by the parents and registered in the mother's name, the sons had no legal claim over it.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the bench ruled that it was not appropriate to challenge the mother's rights simply because she had made a will deed earlier, which she later cancelled in favour of a gift deed. The court emphasised that legal suits should be filed only when clear rights exist and dismissed the petition, labelling it as speculative.
