Delhi High Court: Hindu Widow Has Right to Enjoy Husband’s Property, But Not Absolute Ownership

The Delhi High Court has ruled that a Hindu woman without any income has the right to enjoy the self-acquired property of her deceased husband during her lifetime. However, she does not have the absolute right to sell or transfer the property when there are competing claims by other legal heirs, including children, clarified the court in a recent order.

The court was addressing a case where the husband, who died before the wife, had made a detailed Will granting his wife the right to enjoy the property until her death and specifying how the asset would be inherited thereafter.

Justice Prathiba M Singh noted, “In the case of Hindu women who may not have their own income, receiving a life estate from their husbands is essential for their financial security during their lifetime. Such security is crucial to ensure that the woman is not dependent on her children after her husband’s demise. Under such circumstances, the wife has complete rights to enjoy the property during her lifetime and can also enjoy the income from it. However, this does not give the wife absolute rights over the property after her husband’s death.”

The court was dealing with a property dispute where the civil court had ruled that since there was a Will by the husband before his death, the wife became the absolute owner of his property since she lived there for 23 years. However, this verdict was challenged by multiple claims over the property by the deceased man’s six children and a granddaughter.

“The Will explicitly states that the wife has no right to sell, alienate, or transfer the property. Therefore, to claim that she became the absolute owner of the property upon her husband’s death and could have sold it would contradict the clear intent of the Will and the deceased’s intention,” observed the court.

The court emphasized that the wife did not have any rights in the property before her husband’s death and acquired them solely through the Will.