Supreme Court reaffirms that property shares become self-acquired after a joint family split, granting the right to sell

Hindustan Times

04-05-2025

The Supreme Court has reaffirmed that after the partition of joint family property, the shares allotted to each member become their self-acquired property. The individual holding such property has the right to sell, transfer, or bequeath it as desired.
What this order means is that a property acquired by a member of a joint Hindu family after the severance of status is considered self-acquired property that means that the individual now has full control and ownership over that property. If a family member chooses to sell their individual share, they have the legal right to do so as they would with any self-acquired property.
In practical terms, if the property has been partitioned and the individual share is clearly defined and separated, the person can sell, transfer, or otherwise dispose of that share without needing approval from other family members, since it's now their self-acquired property. This also means they can decide how to handle the property—whether to sell it, gift it, or pass it on through a will—according to their own wishes.
However, if the family hasn't formally partitioned the property, selling an individual share may still require agreement from other coparceners, depending on the legal status of the property and local laws regarding partition, said legal experts.
'After the joint family property has been distributed in accordance with law, it ceases to be joint family properties and the shares of the respective parties become their self acquired properties,' the court said in its recent order.
A bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan held recently that after a partition, each party receives a separate and distinct share which becomes their self-acquired property with absolute rights to sell, transfer, or bequeath. The Supreme Court held this in the case of Angadi Chandranna v. Shankar & Ors. (2025).
A Joint Hindu Family (JHF) is a family unit where the property is owned collectively by all its members, typically governed under the Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) system. In this system, male descendants acquire a birthright in the family property, with up to three generations inheriting this right. Under traditional Hindu law, no coparcener (a member with a birthright) can claim a specific portion of the joint family property until a formal partition takes place, as each member holds an undivided interest in the entire property.
Following the 2005 amendment to the Hindu Succession Act, daughters now have the same birthright as sons in joint family property, ensuring equal inheritance rights.
In contrast, self-acquired property refers to property that an individual acquires through their own efforts, without utilizing any joint family resources or ancestral assets. This type of property may be obtained through personal income, individual enterprise, or personal skill, without relying on the family's ancestral wealth. The owner of self-acquired property has complete control over it, including the right to sell, mortgage, gift, or bequeath it, without needing the consent of other family members.
A joint Hindu family property is the property in which each member of the joint Hindu family has an inherent title and share irrespective of who acquires it. Partition of joint Hindu family confers severance of status of jointness and the united identity of the family is dissolved. 'Upon such partition the jointly held ownership of the properties belonging to the joint Hindu family transforms into separate ownership. After partition each member/coparcener gets the separate and distinct share which becomes his/her self-acquired property,' explains Sunil Tyagi, Managing Partner, ZEUS Law Associates.
This recent judgment of the Supreme Court in the matter of 'Angadi Chandranna v. Shankar & Ors.' once again affirms the settled position regarding property rights of the coparcener after partition of the joint Hindu family. This judgment reiterates that any property acquired by a member of joint Hindu family post severance of status of joint Hindu family is his self-acquired property. A person who acquires such property has a right to sell, transfer or bequeath such self-acquired property in the manner he deems fit, he said.
This decision of the Supreme Court clarifies that a clear intention to waive separate rights must be established if such self-acquired property is to be considered once again as the joint Hindu family property, he said.
He also points out that a voluntary action by the owner of the property to include such self-acquired property into joint Hindu family hot potch, with intention of abandoning his separate rights therein must be established for it to qualify again as a joint Hindu family property.