'Karta' has right to sell, dispose of, alienate a Hindu undivided family property: SC

The bench said the reason is that a Hindu undivided family is capable of acting through its 'Karta' or an adult member of the family in the management of the family property. “Thus, the father of the petitioner herein, as the 'Karta' of the Hindu undivided family, was entitled to mortgage the property. The son(s) or other member(s) of the family need not be consenting parties to the mortgage”, it noted.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has said that the Karta, the head, of a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF), can mortgage the property even though a minor has undivided interest in it, holding that he doesn't need to take consent of all members. A bench comprising justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti noted that in the present case, the petitioner NS Balaji claims that the property in question was a joint family property/Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) property, which was mortgaged by the petitioner’s father as one of the guarantors. The petitioner also contended that his father was the 'Karta' of the HUF.

“The position on the rights of a Karta vis-à-vis a HUF property is well settled. This court in Sri Narayan Bal vs Sridhar Sutar (1996) has held that the 'Karta' has the right to sell/dispose of/alienate a HUF property, even if a minor of the family has an undivided interest”, the bench noted in its order passed on October 3.

The bench said the reason is that a Hindu undivided family is capable of acting through its Karta or an adult member of the family in the management of the family property. “Thus, the father of the petitioner herein, as the Karta of the family, was entitled to mortgage the family property. The son (s) or other member (s) of the HUF need not be consenting parties to the mortgage," it noted.

The bench said post alienation, a coparcener may challenge the act of a 'Karta' if the alienation is not for legal necessity or for the betterment of the estate, which is not the assertion established in the present case. A coparcener is the shareholder of the ancestral property of a Hindu undivided family. The court declined to interfere with the Madras High Court's judgment of July 31, 2023 and dismissed a special leave petition filed by NS Balaji. “In light of the aforesaid, we are not inclined to interfere with the impugned judgment, hence, the special leave petitions are dismissed. Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of," it said.