Grandson Has No Automatic Claim Over Father’s Inherited Property: SC

The Supreme Court has clarified that a grandson cannot automatically claim a share in property inherited by his father from his grandfather under Section 8 of the Hindu Succession Act.

Referring to its landmark ruling in *CWT v. Chander Sen*, the court explained that property inherited by a son through succession is generally treated as his individual property, not as ancestral joint family property, even if he has children.

The court also observed that once a valid partition is completed and heirs receive their respective shares as individual owners, the original coparcenary status of the property comes to an end. Consequently, the portion allotted to the father becomes his exclusive property.

Rejecting the grandson’s reliance on Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act and Section 29A of the Tamil Nadu Amendment Act, 1989, the Supreme Court noted that succession and partition had already taken place. The grandson had also not challenged the 1994 compromise decree or the related sale deeds.

Dismissing the appeal without imposing costs, the court made it clear that a child’s birth alone does not create an automatic right over property inherited individually by a parent. Such claims depend on the property’s legal character, source of inheritance and whether an existing coparcenary continues.