A.
Dear Client,
The law of the land does not permit a stranger to occupy the property of a deceased owner. According to the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, the property of a Hindu male dying intestate (without a will) is distributed among his legal heirs, in class I of the Schedule as per rules prescribed under Section 10 of the Act that include the intestate’s widow, surviving sons and daughters, and the mother. The property of a male Hindu dying intestate shall devolve (a) firstly, upon the preferential heirs, being the relatives specified in Class I of the Schedule; (b) secondly, if there is no preferential heir of Class I, then upon the preferential heirs being the relatives specified in class II of the Schedule; (c) thirdly, if there is no preferential heir of any of the two classes, then upon his relatives being the agnates specified in Section 12; and (d) lastly, if there is no agnate, then upon his relatives being the cognates specified in Section 13 of the Act. If none of the class I or class II, or agnate, or cognate is present, the property of the intestate will devolve upon the government by virtue of the doctrine of escheat. Thus, the legal heirs of a married Hindu male having no family (wife and children) are his parents, siblings, and grandparents. There is no place for a stranger to claim property of a male Hindu having no family (wife and children), dying intestate, in the succession law.
Further, the Hon’ble Supreme Court relied upon the precedent laid down in Brij Narayan Shukla (D) through LRs. Vs. Sudesh Kumar alias Suresh Kumar (D) through LRs. and Ors (2024) 2 SCC 590., in addressing whether tenants of the original owner could claim adverse possession against a transferee of the landlord, the Court ruled that tenants or lessees cannot assert adverse possession against their landlord or lessor as their possession is inherently permissive, stemming from their tenancy agreement. The Apex Court also held that if the tenant continues to remain in the rented premises even after the tenancy rights are extinguished, then the landlord would be entitled to receive compensation in the form of 'mesne profit' from the tenant.
Posted On 18-Oct-2025
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