# • GURUPAD KHANDAPPA MAGDUM v. HIRABAI KHANDAPPA MAGDUM AND ORS

- **Citation:** [1978] 3 S.C.R. 761
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1978-04-27
- **Case number:** Civil Appeal No. 187.S of 1975
- **Bench:** Y. V. Chandrachud, P. N. Shinghal, V. D. TuLZAPURKAR
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/gurupad-khandappa-magdum-v-hirabai-khandappa-magdum-and-ors-7427
- **Pages:** 9

## Headnote

Hindu Succession Act (Act 30 of 1956), Section 6 Explanation 1-Interpretation of-Widow's share mus1 be ascertained by adding the share to which
she is entitled at a notional portion during her husb'and's life time and the
share she would get in her husband's interest upon his death.
Khandappa Sangappa Magdum died on Jnne 27, 1960 leaving behind, his
widow Hirabai, two sons Gurupad and Shivapad and
three
daughters.
On
November, 6, 1952 Hirabai filed special civil suit No. 26/53 for partition and
separate possession of a 7 /24 share in two houses, a. land, two shops and movables on the basis that these properties belonged to the joint family consisting of
her husband, and their two sons. The· case of the, plaintiff was that if a partition were to take place during Khandappa's life time between himself and his
two sons the plaintiff would have got a !th share ieach on the death of Khandappa. Her further case was that Khandappa's tth share could devolve upon
his death on six sharers, entitling her to 1 /24th share besides. The trial Court
found that the suit properties belonged to the joint family and that there was
no prior partition. Following the judgment vf the Bombay High
Court in
Shiramabai Bhim{!onda v. Kalgonda [1963] 66 Bom. L.R. 351, limited her share
to only 1 /24th and refused to add Hh and I/24th together.
Dismissing the
defendant's appeal 524/66 and allowing the cross-objections of the plaintiff,
the Bombay High Court, by its judgment dated March 19, 1975 following 68
Born. L.R. 74 which overruled 66 Born. L.R. 351, held that the plaintiff \vas
entitled to 7 /24th share.
Dismissing the appeal by special leave, the Court
HELD: 1. (a) What Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act. 1956 deals
with is the devolution of the interest which a male Hindu has in a ~.fitakshara
propt."rty at the time of his death. The proviso to Section 6 contains a formula
for fixing the share of thi.: claimant, while Explanation 1 contains a formula for
deducing the share of the deceased. [765 H, 766 A-BJ
(b) Explanation 1 which contains the formula for determining the share
of the deceased creates a fiction by providing that the interest of a Hindu
Mitakshara coparcener shall be deemed to be the share in the property that
would have been allotted to him if a partition of the property had taken place
immediately before his death.
Whether a partition had actually taken place
between the plaintiff's husband and his sons is beside the point for the purposes
of Explanation 1.
That Explanation compels the assumption of a fiction that
in fact "a partition of the property had taken place", the point of time of the
partition being the one immediately before the death of the person in whose
property the heirs claim a share. The fiction created by Explanation 1 has to
be given its due and full effect. [766 E-F, 767 C-D]
Co1111nissioner of Income Tax, Delhi v. S. Teja Singh, [1959] Suppl. S.C.R.
39; applied.
East End Dwellings Co. Ltd. v. Finsbury Borough Council, 1952 AC 109/
132, quoted with approval
A
B
c
D
E
F
G
2. (a) In order to ascertain the share of heirs in the property of a deceased
coparcener it is necessa.ry i~ the very nature of things, and as they very first step
H
to ascertain the share of the deceased in the coparcenary property. For, by
dong that alone can one determine the extent .ofl the claimant's share.
Expla~
nation I to section 6 resorts to the simple expedient, undoubtedly fictional, that
14-315SCI/78
A
B
c
D
E
762
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1978] 3 S.C.1'..
the in.terest of a Hindu Mitakshara coparcener "shall be deemed to oo·'
the
share m the property that would have been allotted to him if a partition of that
pro~rty had taken place immediately before his death.
What
is
therefore
requued to be ~ssumed is that. a p~tion had in fact taken place between the
deceased and. h~s coparcencrs 11.·med1ately before his death. That assumption,
once made, 1s 1rrevocable.. In other words, the assumption having been made
once for the purpose of a

## Text

•
GURUPAD KHANDAPPA MAGDUM
v.
HIRABAI KHANDAPPA MAGDUM AND ORS.
April 27, 1978
[Y. V. CHANDRACHUD, C.J., P. N. SHINGHAL &
V. D. TuLZAPURKAR, JJ.]
Hindu Succession Act (Act 30 of 1956), Section 6 Explanation 1-Interpretation of-Widow's share mus1 be ascertained by adding the share to which
she is entitled at a notional portion during her husb'and's life time and the
share she would get in her husband's interest upon his death.
Khandappa Sangappa Magdum died on Jnne 27, 1960 leaving behind, his
widow Hirabai, two sons Gurupad and Shivapad and
three
daughters.
On
November, 6, 1952 Hirabai filed special civil suit No. 26/53 for partition and
separate possession of a 7 /24 share in two houses, a. land, two shops and movables on the basis that these properties belonged to the joint family consisting of
her husband, and their two sons. The· case of the, plaintiff was that if a partition were to take place during Khandappa's life time between himself and his
two sons the plaintiff would have got a !th share ieach on the death of Khandappa. Her further case was that Khandappa's tth share could devolve upon
his death on six sharers, entitling her to 1 /24th share besides. The trial Court
found that the suit properties belonged to the joint family and that there was
no prior partition. Following the judgment vf the Bombay High
Court in
Shiramabai Bhim{!onda v. Kalgonda [1963] 66 Bom. L.R. 351, limited her share
to only 1 /24th and refused to add Hh and I/24th together.
Dismissing the
defendant's appeal 524/66 and allowing the cross-objections of the plaintiff,
the Bombay High Court, by its judgment dated March 19, 1975 following 68
Born. L.R. 74 which overruled 66 Born. L.R. 351, held that the plaintiff \vas
entitled to 7 /24th share.
Dismissing the appeal by special leave, the Court
HELD: 1. (a) What Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act. 1956 deals
with is the devolution of the interest which a male Hindu has in a ~.fitakshara
propt."rty at the time of his death. The proviso to Section 6 contains a formula
for fixing the share of thi.: claimant, while Explanation 1 contains a formula for
deducing the share of the deceased. [765 H, 766 A-BJ
(b) Explanation 1 which contains the formula for determining the share
of the deceased creates a fiction by providing that the interest of a Hindu
Mitakshara coparcener shall be deemed to be the share in the property that
would have been allotted to him if a partition of the property had taken place
immediately before his death.
Whether a partition had actually taken place
between the plaintiff's husband and his sons is beside the point for the purposes
of Explanation 1.
That Explanation compels the assumption of a fiction that
in fact "a partition of the property had taken place", the point of time of the
partition being the one immediately before the death of the person in whose
property the heirs claim a share. The fiction created by Explanation 1 has to
be given its due and full effect. [766 E-F, 767 C-D]
Co1111nissioner of Income Tax, Delhi v. S. Teja Singh, [1959] Suppl. S.C.R.
39; applied.
East End Dwellings Co. Ltd. v. Finsbury Borough Council, 1952 AC 109/
132, quoted with approval
A
B
c
D
E
F
G
2. (a) In order to ascertain the share of heirs in the property of a deceased
coparcener it is necessa.ry i~ the very nature of things, and as they very first step
H
to ascertain the share of the deceased in the coparcenary property. For, by
dong that alone can one determine the extent .ofl the claimant's share.
Expla~
nation I to section 6 resorts to the simple expedient, undoubtedly fictional, that
14-315SCI/78
A
B
c
D
E
762
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1978] 3 S.C.1'..
the in.terest of a Hindu Mitakshara coparcener "shall be deemed to oo·'
the
share m the property that would have been allotted to him if a partition of that
pro~rty had taken place immediately before his death.
What
is
therefore
requued to be ~ssumed is that. a p~tion had in fact taken place between the
deceased and. h~s coparcencrs 11.·med1ately before his death. That assumption,
once made, 1s 1rrevocable.. In other words, the assumption having been made
once for the purpose of ascertaining the share of the deceased in the
coparcenary property, one cannot go back on that assumption and ascertain the share
of the heirs without reference to it.
The assumption which the statute requires
to be made that a partition had in fact taken place must permeate the entire
process of ascertainment of the ultimate share of the heirs,
through all
its
stages. . To make the assumption at the initial stage for the limited purpose of
ascertaining the share of the deceased and then to ignore it for calculating the
quantum of the share of the heirs is. truly to permit one's imagination to boggle.
All the consequences which flow from a real partition have to be logically worked out, which means that the share of the heirs must be ascertained on the basis
that they had separated from one another and had received a share in the partition which had taken place during the life time of the deceased. The
allotment of this share is not a processua1 step devised merely for the purpose of
working out some other conclusion.
It has to be treated and accepted
as
a
concrete reality, something that cannot be recalled just as a share allotted to a
coparcener in an actual partition cannot generally be recalled.
The :inevitable
corollary of this position is that the heir will get his or her share in the interest
which the deceased had in the coparcenary property at the time of his death,
in addition to the share which he or she received or must be deemed to have
received in the notional partition.
[768 B-G]
(b) This interpretation furthers the legislative intent in regard to the enlargement of the share of female heirs, qualitatively and quantatively.
Even
assuming that two interpretations of Explanation I are
reasonably
possible,
Courts must prefer that interpretation which will further the intention of the
legislature and remedy the injustice from which the Hindu women have suffered
over the years. By restricting the operation of the fiction created by Explanation I in the manner suggested by the appellant, Courts shall be takiing a retrograde step, putting back as it were the clock of social .reform which has enabled
the Hindu women to acquire an equal status with males in matters of property. [768 G. 769 A-BJ
Rangubhai La/ji v. Laxn1an Lalji, 68 (Born.) L.R. 74; Sushilabai Ramachandra
Kulkarni v. Narayanarao Gopalrao Deshpande and Ors .. A.I.R. (1975) Born.
257; Vidyaben v. Jagadislzchandra N. Bhatt, A.LR. 1974 Guj. 23; Ananda v.
Haribandu, A.J.R. 1967 Orissa 194; approved.
F
3. In the instant case,
G
H
(a) There is no justification for limiting the plaintiff's share to 1/24th by
ignoring the tth share which she would have obtained had there been a partition during her husband's life time between him and his two sons.
In a partition between Khandappa and his two sons, there would be four sharers in the
coparcenary property, the
fourth
being
Khandappa's
wife,
the
plaintiff.
Khandappa would have therefore got a !th share in the coparcenary property
on the hypothesis of a partition between himself and his sons.
r766 G-H. 767 B-CJ
(b) By the application of the normal rule prescribed by Section 6 of the
Hindu Succession Act, 1956, Khandappa's interest in the coparcenary property
would devolve by survivorship upon the surviving members of the coparcenary
1nd not in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
But, since the widow
,nd daughter are amongst the female relatives specified in class I of the Schelule to the Act and Khandappa died leaving behind a wido\v and
dau~hters,
he proviso to section 6 comes into play and the normal
rule
is
excluded.
Khandappa's interest in the coparcenary property would
therefore
devolve.
according to the proviso, by intestate Mtccession under the Act and not by
survivorship. Testamentary succession is out of question as the deceased had
not made a testamentary disposition though, under the explanation to section
..
/
•
,
...
,,,
A
•
.. ..
.,~
G. K. MAGDUM v. H. K. MAGDUM (Chandrachud, C.J.)
763
30 of the Act, the interest of a male Hindu in Mitakshara
coparcenary
proA
perty is capable of being disposed of by a will or other testamentary disposition. [765 E-Gl
(c) The plaintiff's share as determined by the application of the rules. of
intestate succession contained in Sections 8, 9 and 10 of the Hindu Succession
Act will be 1/6th. The deceased Khandappa died leaving behind
him
two
sons, three daughters and a widow.
The son, daughter and wido\v are me~
tioned as heirs in class I of the Schedule and therefore, by reason of the prov1-
-sions of section 8(a) read with the 1st clause of section 9, they
take
simulB
tmaeously and to the exclusion of other heirs.
As b;:tween them the two sons,
the three daughters and the \Vidow will take equally. each having one share in
the deceascd's property under section 10 read \Vith Rules I
and
2
of
that
section. [766-C-Dl
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 187.S of 1975.
Appael by Special Leave from the Judgment and Order dated the
19th March, 1975 of the Bombay High Court in First Appeal No.
524 of 1966 from original decree.
R. B. Datar for the Appellant.
T'. N. Ganpu/e and (Mrs.) V. D. Khanna for the respondent.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
CHANDRACHUD, C.J.
It will be easier, with the help Jf !he foUowing pedigree to understand the point involved in this appeal
Khandappa Sangappa Magdun1
Hirab2.i (PlaintifT)
I
.
I
I
I
'
Gurupad
B1yawwa
Bhagirathibai
Dhrr.di.itai
Shivapa'.d
(Doft. I)
(Doft. 3)
(Deft. 4)1
(Deft. 5)
(Deft. 2)
KhanJappa died on June 27, 1960 leaving him surviving his
wife
Hirabai, who is the plaintiff, two sons Gurupad and Shivapad, who
are defondants l and 2 respectively, and three daughters, defendants
3 to 5. On November 6, 1962 Hirabai filed special civil suit No. 26
of 1963 in the co"rt of the Joint Civil Judge, Senior Division, Sanrli
for partition and separate possession of a 7 /24th share in two houses,
c
D
E
F
a land, two shops a·nd movables on the hasis that these properties
belonged to the joint family consisting of her husband, herself
and
their two sons.
H a partition were to take place during Khandappa's
lifetime between himself and his two sons, the plaintiff would have got
a 1/4th share in the joint family properties, the other three getting
G
a J /4th share each.
Khandappa's l/4th share would devolve. upon •·i
his death on six sharers, the plaintiff and her five
children
each ·
having a I/24th share therein.
Adding 1/4th and
l/24th
the
plaintiff claims a 7 /24th share in the joint family properties. That in
short, is the plaintiff's case.
'
Ddendants 2 to 5 admitted the plaintiff's claim, the suit having
been contested by defendant 1, Gurupad, only.
He contended that
the suit properties did not belong to the joint family that they were
Khandappa's self-requisitions and that, on the date 'or Khandappa's
H
A
B
c
D
764
SUPREME _COURT REPORTS
[1978] 3 s.c.R.
death in 1960 there was no joint family in existence. He alleged that
Khandappa had effected a partition of the suit properties between
himself and his two sons in December 1952 and December 1954 and
that, by a family arrangement dated March 31, 1955 he had given
directions for disposal of the share which was reserved by him for
himself in the earlier partitions. There was, therefore, no question of
a fresh partition. That, in short, is the case of defendant 1.
The trial court by its judgment dated July
13,
1965 rejected
defendant 1 's case that the properties were Khandapp;i's self -acquisitions and that he had partitioned them during his lifetime.
Upon
that finding the plaintiff became indisputably entitled to a share in the
joint family prop~rties but, following the judgment of the Bombay High
Court in Shiramabai Bhimgonda v. Kalgonda(11) the learned trial judgelimited that share ta l/24th, refusing to add. l/4th and 1 /24th together. As against that decree, defendant 1 filed first appeal No. 524
of 1966 in the B9mbay High Court, while the plaintiff filed
crossobjections. By a judgment dated March 19, 1975 a Divis10n Bench
of the High Court dismissed defendant 1 's appeal and allowed the
plaintiff's cross-objections by holding that the suit properties belonged
to the joint family, that there was no prior partition and that the plaintiff is entitled to a 7,124th share. Defendant I has filed this appeal'
against the High Court's judgment by special leave.
Another Division Bench of !he Bombay High Court in Rangubai
Lalji v. Laxman Lalji(') had already reconsidered and dissented from
~arlier Division Bench judgment in Shiramabai Bhimgonda.( 1)
ln
E
these two cases, the judgment of the. Bench was delivered by the same
learned Judge, Patel J. On further consideration the learned Judge
felt that Shiramabai(1) was not fully argued
and
was
incorrectly
decided and that on a true view of law, the widow's share must be·
ascertained by adding the share to which she is entitled at a notional
partition during her husband's life time and the share which she would
get in her husband's interest upon his death. In the judgment under
F
appeal, the High Court has based itself on the judgment in Rangubai
Lalji(') endorsing indirectly the view that Shiramabai("i) was incorrect_ly decided.
H
Since the view of the High Court that the suit properties belonged
to the joint family and that there was no prior partition is well-founded
and is not seriously disputed, the decision of this appeal rests on the
interpretation of Explanation I to section 6 of the Hindu Succession
Act, (30 of 1956). That section reads thus:
"6. When a male Hindu dies after the commencement
of this Act, having at the time of his death an interest in a
Mitakshara copar'cenary property, his interest in the property
(I) (1963) 66 Born. L.R. 351.
(2) 68 Born. L.R. 74.
I.
'
•
/
{
..
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-
-
\
• •
•
<G. K. MAGDUM v. H.K. MAGDUM (Chandrachud, C.J.)
765
:shall devolve by survivorship upon the surviving members
,of the coparcenary and not in accordance with this Act :
Provided that, if the deceased had left him survivi11g a
.female relative specified in class I of the Schedule or a male
relative specified in that class who claims through such a
female relative, the interest of the deceased in the Mitakshara coparcenary property shall devolve by testamentary
·or intestate succession, as· the case may be, under this Act
.and not by survivorship.
Explanation 1.-For the purposes of this section, the
interest of a Hindu Mitakshara coparcener shall be deemed
to be the share in the property that would have been allotted
to him if a partition of the property had taken place immediately before his death, irrespective of whether he was
entitled to claim partition or not.
Explanation 2.-Nothing contained in the proviso to this
·section shall be construed as enabling a person
who has
separated himself from the coparcenary before the death of
the deceased or any of his heirs to claim on intestacy
a
~hare in the interest referred to therein."
A
B
c
D
The Hindu Succession Act came into force on June 17 1956,
Kliandappa having died after the commencement of that Act,' to wit
in 1960, and since he had at the time of his death an interest in Mitakshara coparcenary property, the pre-conditions of section 6
are
satisfied and that section is squarely attracted.
By the application of
E
the normal rule prescribed by that section, Khandappa's interest in
the coparcenary property would devolve by survivorship upon
the
·surviving members of the coparcenary and not in accordance with the
provisions of the Act.
But, since the widow and daughter are amongst
the female relatives specified in class I of the Schedule to the Act
and Khandappa died leaving behind a widow and daughters, the proviso to, section 6 comes into play and the normal rule is excluded.
P
Khandappa's interest in the coparcenary property would therefore
devolve, according to the proviso, by intestate succession under the
Act and not by survivorshop.
Testamentary successive is
out of
question as the deceased had not made a testamentary disposition
though under the explanation to section 30 of the Act, the interest of
a male Hindu in Mitakshara coparcenary property is capable of being
disposed of by a will or other testamentary disposition.
G
There is thus no dispute that the normal rule provided for by
·section 6 does not apply, that the proviso to that section is attracted
and that the decision of the appeal must turn on the meaning to be
given to Explanation 1 of section 6.
The interpretation of that Explanation is the subject-matter of acute controversy between the parties.
Before considering the implications of Explanation 1, it is necessary
to remember that what section 6 deals with is devolution of the interest which a male Hindu has in a Mitakshare coparcenary property at
H
766
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1978J 3 S.C.R.
A
the time of his death. Since Explanation I is intended to be explana-
,
tory. of the provisions contained in the section, what the Explanation
provides has to be correlated to the subject matter which the section
itself deals with.
In the instant case the plaintiff's suit based as it
is on the provisions of section 6, is essentially a claim to ~btain a share
"'"
in the interest which her husband had at the time of his death in the
B
coparcenary property.
Two things become necessary to determine
for the purpose of giving relief to the plaintiff.
One, her share in
CL
her husband's share and two, her husband's own share in the copa<-
~
/
cenary property.
The proviso to section 6 contains the formula
for
'
fixing the share of the claimant while Explanation 1 contains a formula for deducing the share of the deceased.
The plaintiff's share,
r"-.~
by the application of the proviso, has to be determined according to
c
the terms of the testamentary instrument, if any, made by the deceased
and since there is none in the instant case, by ·the application of the
-
rules of intestate succession contained in sections 8, 9 and I 0 of the
Hindn Succession Act.
The deceased Khandappa died leaving behind him two sons, three daughters and a widow.
The son, daughter
and a widow are mentioned as heirs in class I of the Schedule and
therefore, by reason of the provisions of section 8 (a) read with the
/
D
!st clause of section 9, they take simultaneously and to the exclusion
of other heirs.
As between them the two sons, the three daughters
and the widow will take equally, each having ooe share in the deceased's property under section 10 read with Rules 1 and 2 of that section.
·Thus, whatever be the share of the deceased in the coparcenary protr
perty, since there are six sharers in that property each having an
equal share, the plaintiff's share therein will be I/6th.
.,
E
The next step, equally important though not equally easy to work
~
out, is to find out the share which the deceased had in the coparcenary
property because after all, the plaintiff has a I/6th interest in that
share.
Explanation I which contains the formula for determining
the share of the deceased creates a fiction by providing that the ;nterF
est of a Hindu Mitakshara coparcener shall be deemed to be the share
~
in the property that would have been allotted to him if a partition
of the property had taken place immediatelv hefore his Jeath. One
•
must, therefore. imagine a state of affairs in which a little prior to ·-;(
Khandappa's death, a partition of the conarcenarv property was effected between him and other members of the coparcenary.
Though the
plaintiff, not being a coparcener, was not entitled to demand partit; ·m
,,_
G
yet, if a partition were to take place betwee·' her husband <:nd his
J.
two sons, she would be entitled to receive a share equal to that of a
son.
(see Mulla's Hindu Law, Fourteenth Edition, page 403, para
315).
In a partition between Khandappa and his two sons. there
would be four sharers in the coparcenary property, the fourth being
Khandappa's wife, the plaintiff.
Khandappa would have th~rcfore
•
got a 1/ 4th share in the coparcenary property on the hypothesis of a
H
partition between himself and his sons.
.;..
~
Two things are thus clears : One, that in a partition of the coparcenary prope)'ty Khandappa would have obtained a 114th share and
-
- ,.
G. K. MAGDUM v. H.K. MAGDUM (Chandrachud, C./.)
767
two, that the share of the plaintiff in the 1/4th share is l/6th, that is
A
to say, l/24th. So far there is no difficulty.
The question which
poses a somewhat difficult problem is whether the plaintiff's ohare in
the coparcenary property is only l/24th or whether it is l/4th plus
l/24th, that is to say, 7 /24th.
The learned trial Judge, relying upon
the decision in Shiramabai which was later overruled by the Bombay
High Court, accepted the former contention while. the High
Court
accepted the latter.
The question is which of these two views is to
B
be preferred.
We see no justification for limiting the plaintiff's share to 1/24th
by ignoring the l/4th share which she would have obtained had there
been a partition during her husband's life time between him and his
two sons.
We think that in overlooking that l/4th share, one unwittingly permits one's imagination to boggle under the oppression of
the reality that there was in fact no partition between the plaintiff's
husband and his sons.
Whether a partition had actually taken place
between the plaintiff's husband and his sons is beside the point for the
purposes of Explanation 1.
That Explanation compels the assumption of a fiction that in fact "a partition of the property had taken
place", the point of time of the partition being the one immediately before the death of the person in whose property the heirs claim a share.
The fiction created by Explanation 1 has to be giv® its due and
full effect as the fiction created by section 18A(9) (b) of th~ Indian
Income-tax Act, 1922, was given by this Court in Commissioner of
lncome-tax, Delhi v. S. Teja Singh('1). It was held in
that
case
c
D
that the fiction that the failure to send an estimate of tax on income
under section 18A(3) is to be deemed to be a failure to send a return,
E
necessarily involves the fiction that a notice had been issued to
the
assessee under section 22 and that he had failed to comply with it.
In an important aspect, the case before us is stronger in the matter
of working out the fiction because in .Teja Singh's case, a missing step
had to be supplied which was not provided for by section 18A(9)(b),
namely, the issuance of a notice under section 22 and the failure to
comply with that notice.
Section 18A(9) (b) stopped at creating the
F
fiction that when a person fails to send an estimate of tax on his income under section 18A ( 3) he shall be deemed to have failed
tcY
furnish a return of his income.
The section did not provide further
that in the circumstances therein stated, a notice under section
22
shall be deemed to have been issued and the notice shall be deemed
not to have been complied with. These latter assumptions in regard
to the issuance of the notice under section 22 and its non-compliance
G
had to b~ made for the purpose of giving due and full effect to the
fiction created by section 18A(9) (b). In our case it is not necessary,
for the purposes of working out the fiction, to assume and supply a
missing link which is really what was meant by Lord Asquith in his
famous passage in East End Dwellings Co. Ltd. v. Finsbury Borough
Council.(')
He said if you are bidden to treat an imaginary state of
affairs as real, you must also imagine as real the consequences and
H
(!1 [1959] Supp. 1 S.C.R. 394
(2\ [1912] A.C. 109/132
768
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1978] 3 S.C.R.
A
incidents which, if the putative state of affairs had in fact existed, must
inevitably have flowed from or accompanied it; and if the statute ,ays
that_you must imagine a certain state of affairs, it cannot be interpreted to mean that having done so, you must cause or permit your
imagination to boggle when it comes to the inevitable corollaries of
that state of affairs.
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In order to ascertain the share of heirs in the property of a deceased coparcener it is necessary in the very nature of things, and as the
very first step, to ascertain the share of the deceased in the coparcenary
property.
For, by doing that alone can one determine the extent of
the claimant's share.
Explanation 1 to section 6 resorts to the simple
expedient, undoubtedly fictional, that the interest of a Hindu Mitakshara coparcener "shall be deemed to lie" the share in the property
that would have been allotted to him if a partition of that property had
taken place immediately before his death.
What is therefore required to be assumed is that a partition had in fact taken place between
the deceased and his coparceners immediately before his c!ealh. That
assumption, once made, is irrevocable.
In other words, the assumption liaving been made once for the purpose of ascertaining the share
of the deceased in the coparcenary property, one cannot go back on
that assumption and ascertain the share of the heirs without reference
to it.
The assumption which the statute requires to be made that a
partition had in fact taken place must permeate the entire process of
ascertainment of the ultimate share of the heirs, through all its stages.
To make the assumption at the initial stage for the limited purpose of
ascertaining the share of the deceased and then to ignore it for calculatillg the quantum of the share of the heirs is truly to permit one's
imagination to boggle.
All the consequences which flow from a real
partition have to be logically worked out, which means that the share
of the heirs must be ascertained· on the basis that they had separated
from one another and had received a share in the partition which had
taken place during the life time of the deceased.
The allotment of
this share is not a processual step devised merely for the purpose of
working out some other conclusion. It has to be treated and accepted
as a concrete reality, something that cannot be recalled just as a share
allotted to a coparcener in an actual partition cannot generally
be
recalled.
The
inevitable
corollary
of
this
position
is
that
the heir will get his or her share in the interest which the deceased had
in the coparcei:"ary property at the time of his death. in addition .to
the share which he o.r she received or must be deemed to have received in the notional partition.
The interpretation which we are placing upon the provisions of
section 6, its proviso and explanation I thereto will further the le¢slative intent in regard to the enlargement of the share of female heirs,
qualitatively and quantitatvely.
The Hindu Law of Inheritance
(Amendment) Act, 1929 conferred heirship rights on the son's daughter. daughter's daughter and sister in all areas where the Mitokshara
law prevailed.
Section 3 of the Hindu Women's Rizhts tn Pwperty
Act 1937, speaking broadlv. conferred upon the Hindu widnw
the
right to a share in the joint family propertv as also a right to demand
partition like any male member of the family.
The Hindu Succession
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G. K. MAGDUM v. H. K. MAGDUM (Chandrachud, C.J.)
769
Act, 1956 provides by section 14(1) that any property pos·sessed by
.a female Hindu, whether acquired before or afte.r the commencement
of the Act, shall be held by her as a full owner thereof and not as a
limited owner. By restricting the operation of the fiction created by
Explanation I in the manner suggested by the appellant, we shall be
·taking a retrograde step, putting back as it were the clock of social
··reform which has enabled the Hindu Woman to acquire an equal status
with males in matters of property.
Even assuming that two :nterpretations of Explanation I are reasonably possible, we must prefer that
interpretation which will further the intention of the legislature and
remedy !ht: injustice from which the Hindu women have suffered over
the years.
We are happy to find that the view which we have taken above has
also been faken by the Bombay High Court in Rangu/Jai Lalji v. Laxman Lalji (supra) in which Patel, J., very fairly, pronounced his own
earlier judgment to the contrary in Shiramabai Bhimgonda v. Kalgonda
(supra) as incorrect.
Recently, a Full Bench of that High Court in
Sushilabai Ramachandra Kulkarni v. Narayanrao Gopalrao Deshpande
&Ors.,(1) the Gujarat High Court in Vidyaben v. Jagdishchandra N.
Bhatt(') and the High Court of Orissa in Ananda v. Haribandhu(')
have taken the same view.
The Full Bench of the Bombay High
·Court in Sushilabai (supra) has considered exhaustively the various
decisions bearing on the point and we endorse the analysis contained
in the judgment of Kantawala C. J ., who has spoken for the Bench.
For these reasons we confum the judgment of the High Court and
. dismiss the appeal with costs.
S.R.
(I) A.I.R. 1975 (Bombay) 257.
(2) A.LR. 1974 Guj. 23.
(3) A.LR. 1967 Orissa 194.
Appeal dismissed.
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