A father dies without a will and leaves a three-storey house in Lajpat Nagar to his widow, two sons and a daughter. One son lives on the ground floor and refuses to discuss division. A sister is asked to sign a relinquishment deed "as a formality". A brother insists the house is ancestral and his children have a share. Heirs abroad want money; the one in Delhi wants to stay. These disputes fill Delhi's civil courts, but most can be settled without years of litigation if the family understands who owns what. This guide explains how shares are worked out, the difference between inherited and ancestral property after recent Delhi High Court rulings, family settlements, partition and relinquishment deeds, how a partition suit works from plaint to final decree, Delhi property types from DDA flats to Lal Dora houses, and the 2025 and 2026 decisions that shape these cases. If you need heirship papers, see Mara Vakil's legal heir certificate service.
Any co-owner of jointly held property in Delhi can seek partition at any time. When a Hindu parent dies without a will, the property goes in equal shares to the Class I heirs: widow, sons, daughters and mother, with married daughters taking the same share as sons. Property inherited after 1956 is generally the heir's individual property, so grandchildren have no share while their parent is alive (Delhi High Court, Kritika Jain, 2025). Families can divide by a family settlement (an oral settlement recorded later in a memorandum need not be registered), a registered partition deed or a relinquishment deed, which the Delhi High Court has held is not a gift for stamp duty. If they cannot agree, a partition suit goes to the district civil court for property valued up to Rs 2 crore and to the High Court above that; the court first declares shares by a preliminary decree, then divides the property or orders its sale by a final decree.
Partition is the legal process of dividing property that two or more people own together, so that each person gets a separate, defined portion or the money value of their share. In Delhi, most partition disputes are between siblings after the death of a parent: three brothers and two sisters who have inherited a house in Lajpat Nagar, a builder floor in Rohini that two branches of the family occupy, a plot in a village in South West Delhi, or a DDA flat that one son lives in while the others want their share. Partition can be done amicably, by a family settlement, a registered partition deed or a relinquishment deed, or through a partition suit in a civil court.
The basic rule is simple: any co-owner can ask for partition at any time. No co-owner can be forced to stay in joint ownership forever. The difficult questions are usually who the co-owners are, what each person's share is, whether some property is self-acquired or ancestral, whether an old oral partition or will already settled things, and how a single house can actually be divided. This guide takes those questions one by one, with the law as applied by the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court up to October 2026.
Section 8 of the Hindu Succession Act decides where a Hindu man's property goes if he leaves no will. The first in line are his Class I heirs, all taking equal shares: his widow, sons, daughters and mother, along with the children of a predeceased son or daughter (who take their parent's share) and certain other descendants. So if a father dies leaving a widow, two sons, a daughter and his mother, each of the five takes one-fifth. Married daughters have exactly the same share as sons. When a Hindu woman dies intestate, Section 15 sends her property, first to her sons, daughters (including the children of a predeceased child) and husband.
A grandchild whose parent is alive is not a Class I heir of the grandparent. In Kritika Jain v. Rakesh Jain, decided on 9 September 2025, Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav of the Delhi High Court rejected a granddaughter's partition suit over a Janakpuri house bought by her grandfather in 1972-73. Because the grandfather had died in 1994 without a will, the house passed to his Class I heirs, including her father, as their individual property. Her father being alive, she had no share to claim.
Muslim families follow Muslim personal law, under which shares are fixed by rules of inheritance (a son, for example, usually receives double what a daughter receives, while a widow gets a set fraction). Christians and Parsis in Delhi are governed by the Indian Succession Act, 1925, which has separate rules for each community. The procedure for partition, by deed or by suit, is the same for everyone; only the calculation of shares differs.
There are four common ways families in Delhi divide inherited property by agreement. Each has different legal and stamp consequences, so choosing the right document matters.
A family settlement is an arrangement among family members to resolve existing or potential disputes about property, usually by allocating particular properties or portions to each member. Courts have favoured family settlements for decades, because they keep peace in the family. The Supreme Court in Kale v. Deputy Director of Consolidation (1976) laid down that a family settlement must be bona fide, voluntary and not induced by fraud or coercion; that it may be oral; and that a document which merely records an arrangement already made orally (a memorandum of family settlement) does not require compulsory registration. A document which itself creates, declares or transfers rights in immovable property worth more than Rs 100 must be registered under Section 17 of the Registration Act, 1908.
The Delhi High Court applied these principles on 29 June 2026 in Dhanpat Rai Gupta v. Kashmiri Lal Gupta (RSA 266/2013, Justice Neena Bansal Krishna). Four brothers had jointly bought land in Village Pipal Thala in 1954 and later divided the remaining portion orally, recording the division in an unregistered memorandum of October 1986 with a site plan. One brother was dispossessed of his shop by another in 1992. The High Court held that the memorandum only recorded an earlier oral settlement and was admissible without registration, and that the settlement was proved by the memorandum, the site plan, admissions by family members and the brothers' conduct over the years: separate sale deeds, separate occupation and construction, separate electricity connections and house tax. It restored the trial court's decree for possession.
The practical lesson: an oral family settlement can be valid, but proving it years later depends on conduct and contemporaneous papers. If your family settles, write it down, sign it with all members, attach a site plan, and act on it consistently (separate mutation, separate bills, separate tax).
A partition deed is a formal document by which co-owners divide the property and each takes exclusive ownership of a defined portion. It must be stamped and registered at the sub-registrar's office having jurisdiction over the property. Under the Indian Stamp Act as applicable in Delhi, stamp duty on a partition instrument is calculated on the value of the separated shares; the largest share is treated as the one from which the others are separated, so duty is not charged on it. Registration fees are additional. Check the current rate with the sub-registrar or the Delhi e-registration portal before execution.
A registered partition deed gives the clearest title, and each owner can then apply separately for mutation with the MCD or DDA, get separate electricity meters and sell their portion independently.
A relinquishment deed is used when one or more co-owners give up their share in favour of another co-owner, usually a sister in favour of a brother or siblings in favour of a mother. It must be registered. A Division Bench of the Delhi High Court in Ramesh Sharma v. Government of NCT of Delhi (2025:DHC:8835-DB), reported in October 2025, held that five relinquishment deeds by sisters in favour of their brother over their late father's property were not gifts for stamp duty purposes. A relinquishment by one co-owner in favour of another extinguishes the executant's right and enlarges the other's share; it is not a transfer of ownership. The Court set aside the sub-registrar's decision to treat them as gift deeds and released the impounded documents without additional duty.
Relinquishment is final. Before signing, a sister or any other co-owner should understand exactly what she is giving up and whether she is getting anything in return. Many disputes arise years later from relinquishment deeds signed under family pressure without understanding.
Where a house cannot sensibly be divided, the family may agree to sell it and share the money in proportion to their shares, or one heir may buy out the others at an agreed value. All co-owners must join in the sale deed, or execute powers of attorney in favour of one of them for that purpose.
If the family cannot agree on its own, mediation helps. The Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre (Samadhan) and the mediation centres in each district court complex handle property and family disputes, and a court can refer a pending partition suit to mediation. A settlement reached in court-annexed mediation can be recorded and turned into a decree, which saves years of trial.
| Document | Registration | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Memorandum of family settlement (recording an earlier oral arrangement) | Not compulsory if it only records | Families who have already divided by agreement |
| Family settlement deed (creating rights) | Compulsory | Fresh allocation of properties among family members |
| Partition deed | Compulsory | Physical division of one or more properties into separate portions |
| Relinquishment deed | Compulsory | One co-owner gives up share to another co-owner |
| Gift deed | Compulsory | Transfer of a share to a person who is not a co-owner, or by choice |
| Sale deed | Compulsory | Sale to an outsider or buyout by one heir |
When the family cannot agree, any co-owner can file a suit for partition and separate possession. In Delhi, the process has two main stages: a preliminary decree, which declares who the co-owners are and what their shares are, and a final decree, which actually divides the property by metes and bounds or orders its sale.
Partition suits are filed in the civil court within whose territorial jurisdiction the property lies. The forum depends on the value of the suit. As of October 2026, the district civil courts in Delhi hear suits valued up to Rs 2 crore, and suits above that value go to the original side of the Delhi High Court. The Full Court of the High Court recommended in July 2026 that this limit be raised to Rs 10 crore, but that change requires an amendment to the law and is not in force. Delhi's district courts sit at six court complexes: Tis Hazari, Karkardooma, Saket, Rohini, Dwarka and Patiala House, each covering particular districts. If property is in more than one district, the suit can be filed where any part of it lies.
The court fee in a partition suit depends on whether the plaintiff is in possession. A co-owner who is in joint possession (actual or constructive, which includes a co-owner who lets another co-owner occupy) generally pays a fixed court fee. A co-owner who has been excluded from possession and has to seek possession pays ad valorem court fee on the value of his or her share. The plaint must be valued correctly; a 2026 Delhi High Court decision upheld the rejection of a sister's partition suit over her parents' properties because the court fee directed by the trial court was never paid. Get the valuation and court fee right at the outset.
All co-owners must be made parties, either as plaintiffs or defendants. Anyone who has bought a share from a co-owner, or has a mortgage on the property, should also be joined. A decree passed in the absence of a necessary party may not bind that person.
While the suit is pending, a co-owner can ask for a temporary injunction under Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure to stop another co-owner from selling, mortgaging, demolishing or altering the property, or from obstructing access. In an order reported on 8 October 2026, the Delhi High Court restrained a sister from obstructing her UK-resident sister's access to the first floor of their late father's house in Maurya Enclave, Pitampura, and directed that she be given a key when she visits India, observing that residing abroad does not bar an heir from accessing inherited property. The Court did not grant exclusive possession because the shares had not yet been demarcated. The court can also appoint a receiver to manage a property and collect rent.
After pleadings, evidence and arguments (or earlier, if the shares are admitted), the court passes a preliminary decree declaring the shares of the parties. Where the defendants admit the relationship and shares in their written statement, the plaintiff can ask for a decree on admissions under Order XII Rule 6, which can save years. The preliminary decree can be appealed.
The final decree stage works out how the property is actually divided. The court usually appoints a Local Commissioner under Order XXVI Rules 13 and 14, who visits the property, prepares a scheme of division (which floor or portion goes to whom, with any money adjustment called owelty to equalise unequal portions) and reports to the court. The parties can object, and the court then passes a final decree. The Supreme Court in Kattukandi Edathil Krishnan v. Kattukandi Edathil Valsan (2022) said that trial courts should take up final decree proceedings without waiting for a separate application, because a preliminary decree alone does not give the parties anything they can enjoy.
A single small flat or a house that would lose most of its value if split cannot sensibly be partitioned. Under Section 2 of the Partition Act, 1893, the court can order the property to be sold and the proceeds divided, if the nature of the property, the number of shareholders or other special circumstances make division unreasonable, and a request is made by shareholders holding at least half the property. Under Section 3, if any shareholder applies for sale, the other shareholders can offer to buy that person's share at a value fixed by the court. The court can also allow one co-owner to buy out the others. Sale is common in Delhi where heirs have scattered and none wants to live in the house.
Once a final decree is passed and stamped (a final decree in a partition suit attracts stamp duty as an instrument of partition), it is executed like any other decree. Possession of each portion is handed over, and each party can then apply for mutation in their own name.
"It is ancestral property, so I have a share by birth" is probably the most frequent claim in Delhi partition suits, and one of the most frequently rejected. Understanding why requires a short detour into Hindu law.
Under the Mitakshara school, which applies to most Hindu families in North India, property inherited by a man from his father, father's father or father's father's father was ancestral property. His sons, grandsons and great-grandsons acquired an interest in it by birth, and together they formed a coparcenary. A coparcener could demand partition.
The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 changed this. When a Hindu man dies without a will after 17 June 1956, his separate property passes under Section 8 to his Class I heirs as their individual property. The Supreme Court held in Commissioner of Wealth Tax v. Chander Sen (1986) and Yudhishter v. Ashok Kumar (1987) that property a son inherits from his father under Section 8 is his own property, not HUF property in which his sons have a share by birth. The Delhi High Court applied this in Surender Kumar v. Dhani Ram (2016) and has followed it consistently since, including in Kritika Jain (2025).
So in most Delhi families today, a house bought by a grandfather in the 1970s and inherited by his children after his death is not "ancestral" in the legal sense. The grandchildren have no share in it while their parent is alive. They inherit only through their parent, when the parent dies, and only if the parent has not willed it elsewhere.
The burden of proving that property is joint family property lies on the person who asserts it. Mere joint living, a joint kitchen, or the fact that a father let his sons live in his house does not make it HUF property. Delhi courts often decide this question at the very threshold: a plaint that does not plead specific facts showing a pre-1956 coparcenary or a deliberate blending of property can be rejected under Order VII Rule 11 for disclosing no cause of action, as happened in Kritika Jain. At the same time, where the plaint does raise triable issues about coparcenary property, the court should not dismiss it without trial.
The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, which came into force on 9 September 2005, made daughters coparceners by birth in the same manner as sons. A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court in Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma (2020) held that a daughter's right is by birth and does not depend on whether her father was alive on 9 September 2005. It also held that a plea of oral partition, made to defeat a daughter's claim, should not be accepted unless supported by public documents and proved like a registered partition deed or a court decree. Section 6(5) of the amended Act saves partitions effected before 20 December 2004 by a registered deed or a court decree.
In B.S. Lalitha v. Bhuvanesh (2026 INSC 499), decided in May 2026, the Supreme Court restored a partition suit filed by three daughters after the High Court had rejected their plaint on a second Order VII Rule 11 application relying on Vineeta Sharma. The Court held that the earlier order upholding the suit operated as res judicata, that Section 6(5) is a defence to be proved on the merits and not a bar to the suit, and that the daughters in any event had independent rights as Class I heirs of their father, who died without a will in 1985, regardless of the 2005 amendment.
A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court in Revanasiddappa v. Mallikarjun (2023) held that children born of a void or voidable marriage are legitimate under Section 16 of the Hindu Marriage Act and are entitled to a share in their parent's share in coparcenary property, determined by a notional partition immediately before the parent's death. They do not get rights by birth in the coparcenary itself.
As a general rule, there is no limitation for a co-owner in joint possession to seek partition, because the right arises from continuing co-ownership. However, time starts running in two situations:
Limitation in partition suits is often a mixed question of law and fact that cannot be decided without evidence, and Delhi courts have declined to reject plaints at the threshold where it needs a trial. But if a sibling has been in exclusive possession for many years claiming the property as his own, do not wait. Send a legal notice asserting your share, and if necessary file the suit.
Many Delhi families divide a house floor-wise: the ground floor to one heir, the first floor to another, the second floor to a third, with the roof rights and common staircase dealt with expressly. A floor-wise partition deed should describe each floor, its covered area, the share in the land underneath (usually an undivided proportionate share), rights in common areas, parking, terrace and roof, and who bears which costs. After registration, each owner applies for separate mutation and property tax assessment with the MCD and separate electricity and water connections. If the building is to be redeveloped, the partition deed or a separate agreement should say how the heirs will deal with a builder.
A DDA property that is still leasehold needs DDA's substitution or mutation after the allottee's death, in favour of all legal heirs or of the heir in whose favour the others have relinquished. Many families first convert the property to freehold and then partition or sell. DDA has its own requirements for documents, affidavits and indemnity bonds. Our guide on DDA freehold conversion explains the process.
In many of Delhi's unauthorised colonies, title passes through a chain of general powers of attorney, agreements to sell, wills and receipts rather than registered sale deeds. A GPA or agreement to sell does not by itself transfer ownership, a position the Supreme Court made clear in Suraj Lamp and Industries v. State of Haryana (2011), though transactions under PM-UDAY can be regularised by conveyance deeds or authorisation slips. When a holder of such a property dies, the heirs inherit whatever rights the deceased had. Partition is possible but the heirs should, where they can, regularise the title through PM-UDAY first. See our guide on property mutation in Delhi.
Houses in the old village abadi (Lal Dora) areas of Delhi often have no registered title documents because revenue records historically did not cover them. Ownership is proved by possession, old documents, house tax records and village records. Partition among heirs is usually by family settlement or a partition deed backed by those records. Be particularly careful to involve all heirs and to record the division in writing.
Agricultural land in Delhi villages held as bhumidhari is governed by the Delhi Land Reforms Act, 1954, which has its own rules of succession for agricultural holdings and its own forum. A suit for division of a holding is heard by the revenue courts (the Revenue Assistant, now usually the SDM exercising those powers) rather than the civil court. Questions about whether the land is still agricultural, or has become urbanised and is governed by ordinary succession law, have been litigated extensively in Delhi, and the answer can change the shares, especially for daughters. Get specific advice on village land before filing anything.
Shops in markets like Karol Bagh, Chandni Chowk or Lajpat Nagar often generate rent. A partition suit should seek accounts of rent collected by the co-owner in charge, and an interim order to deposit rent in court or share it, if one co-owner is keeping it all.
A family business run as a proprietorship of the deceased passes with his estate. A partnership firm is governed by the partnership deed and the Partnership Act. A private company's shares are movable property and pass to heirs according to succession law or nomination. Partition of a business usually needs valuation and separate agreements; a partition suit can cover business assets but is slower.
Daughters and widows are often asked by brothers or sons to sign relinquishment deeds "as a formality", sometimes on the morning of a sub-registrar appointment. A relinquishment deed is a permanent giving up of property rights. It can be challenged later only on grounds such as fraud, coercion, undue influence or misrepresentation, which are hard to prove. Before signing, ask for a copy in advance, understand the value of what you are giving up, and consult an advocate of your own choice, not the one engaged by the family member who benefits.
If a daughter or widow is being pushed out of her share entirely, or being denied access to the family house, she can send a legal notice and, if needed, file a partition suit with an application for injunction. Elderly widows facing harassment by children may also have remedies under the Senior Citizens Act; see our guide on senior citizen rights in Delhi.
Once property is divided, each owner should get the property records changed into their own name: MCD property tax records for houses in municipal areas, DDA records for DDA properties, revenue records (khatauni) for village land, and the New Delhi Municipal Council for properties in its area. Mutation does not create title, but it is needed for paying property tax, getting utility connections and selling. Our guide on property mutation in Delhi covers the procedure and documents.
Apply to the electricity distribution company (BSES Rajdhani, BSES Yamuna or Tata Power-DDL, depending on the area) and the Delhi Jal Board for separate connections or a change of name, with the partition deed or decree.
Partition of HUF property among its members, and division of jointly inherited property among co-owners in proportion to their shares, is generally not treated as a sale on which capital gains tax arises. Tax becomes relevant when a share is later sold, and the cost and holding period of the previous owner may be carried over. Where one heir pays others for a larger portion, the payment can have tax consequences for the recipients. Because the new Income-tax Act, 2025 has governed tax from April 2026 in place of the old 1961 law, check the current provisions with a chartered accountant before a large settlement.
Partition deeds, relinquishment deeds, family settlement deeds that create rights, and final decrees in partition suits all attract stamp duty. The rate and the method of valuation depend on the document, and circle rates for the locality are used as the minimum value. Under-stamped documents can be impounded and penalised. The Delhi High Court's 2025 decision in Ramesh Sharma shows that the label on the document is not decisive; the authorities look at its substance. Get the document drafted and the duty checked before you book an appointment at the sub-registrar's office.
If you are buying out other heirs or want to warn the public that a property is under partition or dispute, a public notice in newspapers can be useful.
These examples are composites of common Delhi situations. The names are invented and they are not real cases.
Mr. Malhotra bought a 200 square yard plot in Lajpat Nagar in 1965 and built a three-storey house. He died in 2019 without a will, leaving his widow, two sons and a daughter. Each of the four is entitled to one-fourth. The family agrees that each son takes one floor, the daughter takes the second floor, and the widow keeps a life interest in the ground floor, which will go to the elder son after her death in exchange for a payment to the others. An advocate drafts a family settlement deed with a site plan; it is registered, and each sibling then applies for separate MCD mutation.
Two brothers and two sisters inherited a house in Model Town bought by their father in 1980. The elder brother claims it is ancestral property because the money came from the sale of their grandfather's land in Punjab, and says his sons also have a share. The sisters file a partition suit. The court holds that the father's purchase with proceeds of property he inherited after 1956 was his individual property, and on his death it passed equally to his four children. The grandsons have no share.
Five heirs, three living abroad, inherit a small DDA flat in Sarita Vihar. The flat cannot be physically divided. One heir lives there and wants to stay. The others want money. In the partition suit, the court invites the heir in occupation to buy out the others at a value fixed on a valuer's report. When she cannot raise the money, the court orders sale and division of proceeds under the Partition Act.
A sister signed a relinquishment deed in her brother's favour two months after their father's death, after being told it was needed for the electricity connection. Ten years later she learns what it meant. Her advocate explains that challenging the deed now is difficult, because she must prove fraud or misrepresentation and file within the limitation period from when she discovered the fraud. The case shows why advice before signing is essential.
Three heirs co-own a shop in Karol Bagh let out to a tenant. The eldest collects all the rent. The other two file a partition suit with a prayer for accounts and an interim application asking the court to direct the tenant to deposit rent in court. The court directs that the rent be shared in proportion to shares until the suit is decided.
Often one heir has lived in the family house for years, looked after the parents, paid the bills and repaired the building, while the others moved away. When the others ask for partition, that heir feels wronged. The law does recognise some of this, but not all of it.
Many Delhi partition disputes involve heirs in the United States, Canada, the UK, Australia or the Gulf. Some practical points:
| Myth | Reality |
|---|---|
| "Married daughters have no share in the father's house." | They have the same share as sons on intestacy, and are coparceners by birth in genuine coparcenary property. |
| "Grandchildren have a share by birth in a grandfather's house." | Only in genuine coparcenary property. In property inherited after 1956, they claim through their parent, after the parent's death. |
| "The son who lives in the house gets it." | Occupation does not create a larger share, unless there has been ouster for 12 years or a will or settlement says so. |
| "An unregistered family settlement is worthless." | A memorandum recording an earlier oral settlement can be valid and admissible, as the Delhi High Court held in June 2026. A document creating rights needs registration. |
| "A relinquishment deed is a gift and attracts gift stamp duty." | The Delhi High Court held in 2025 that relinquishment in favour of a co-owner is not a gift for stamp duty purposes. |
| "A partition suit takes 20 years." | Contested suits can take years, but admissions, Order XII Rule 6 decrees and mediation often shorten them dramatically. |
| "One heir can sell the whole house." | A co-owner can sell only his own undivided share. |
| "A mutation entry in my name makes me the owner." | Mutation is a fiscal record and does not create title. |
| "If the property is in father's name, mother has no share." | On the father's death without a will, the widow is a Class I heir with an equal share. |
| "A will is not valid unless registered." | Registration is optional. An unregistered will is valid if properly executed and attested, though it may face more challenges. |
| Route | Usual time |
|---|---|
| Family settlement or partition deed, all heirs agree | A few weeks, including drafting, valuation and registration |
| Relinquishment deed | One to three weeks |
| Court-annexed mediation in a pending suit | A few sessions over two to four months |
| Partition suit with admitted shares (decree on admission) | Months rather than years |
| Contested partition suit, preliminary decree | Often two to five years, depending on the court and complexity |
| Final decree proceedings | Several months to a few years after the preliminary decree |
| Appeals | Variable; interim protection can continue |
These are general indications. A partition suit involving many properties, many heirs, a will challenge or a claim of HUF property will take longer.
Think of Mara Vakil as a meeting point: a technology platform, not a law firm, where families looking for help with an inheritance dispute meet enrolled advocates who do this work. We do not give legal advice ourselves. You pay nothing to search for or consult an advocate here; if you hire one, you settle the fee with them directly.
Write a few lines in the form near the top of this page: which property, who the heirs are, and what is blocking the division. Your request reaches property and succession advocates practising in Delhi with your number hidden; it is revealed only to the one who takes up your matter, who will then call you. Depending on your situation, that advocate can:
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Partition and succession litigation is a large share of civil work in every Delhi district court, and 2025 and 2026 have brought useful guidance: Kritika Jain on post-1956 inheritance, B.S. Lalitha on daughters and Section 6(5), Dhanpat Rai Gupta on oral family settlements, and Ramesh Sharma on stamp duty on relinquishment deeds. Clients need careful pleading, correct valuation and court fee, interim protection and practical final decree schemes. If you are an enrolled advocate who handles these matters, you can join Mara Vakil to receive requests from clients in your area.
Dividing jointly owned property so that each co-owner gets a separate portion or the money value of their share.
Yes. No co-owner can be forced to remain in joint ownership.
Equally among his Class I heirs: widow, sons, daughters and mother, with children of a predeceased child taking that child's share.
Yes, the same share as sons.
Yes. A mother is a Class I heir of her son if he dies without a will.
Yes, equal to each child, as a Class I heir.
Not if his father is alive and the house was inherited after 1956. He claims through his father later.
In September 2025 it rejected a granddaughter's partition suit, holding property inherited after 1956 is the heir's individual property.
Under Mitakshara law, property inherited from father, grandfather or great-grandfather before 1956 that remained joint family property.
Generally no. It is your individual property under Section 8 of the Hindu Succession Act.
The person claiming it is joint family property.
No. Joint living or a joint kitchen alone does not.
Yes, if the owner deliberately throws it into the common family stock.
Yes, since the 2005 amendment, daughters are coparceners by birth like sons.
In 2020 the Supreme Court held a daughter's coparcenary right is by birth, regardless of whether her father was alive in 2005.
No, after Vineeta Sharma.
It saves partitions effected before 20 December 2004 by registered deed or court decree.
Courts accept it only if strongly proved with public documents, after Vineeta Sharma.
In May 2026 it restored daughters' partition suit, holding Section 6(5) is a defence on merits and earlier orders bind the parties.
Yes, in their parent's share, under Revanasiddappa (2023).
Yes, through a family settlement, partition deed, relinquishment deed or sale and division.
An arrangement among family members to resolve property disputes by allocating properties or portions.
Yes. Courts accept oral family settlements if proved.
Not if it only records an arrangement already made. A document creating rights must be registered.
In June 2026 it upheld an oral family settlement recorded in an unregistered 1986 memorandum and restored possession.
By documents, site plans, admissions and conduct such as separate occupation, bills, tax and sale deeds.
A registered document dividing property among co-owners, each taking a defined portion.
Yes, for immovable property worth Rs 100 or more.
On the value of the separated shares; the largest share is not charged. Check current Delhi rates.
A registered document by which a co-owner gives up their share in favour of another co-owner.
The Delhi High Court held in Ramesh Sharma (2025) that relinquishment to a co-owner is not a gift for stamp duty purposes.
Only on grounds like fraud, coercion or misrepresentation, which are difficult to prove.
Only after understanding what she gives up and taking independent advice.
Yes, if all co-owners join in the sale.
Yes, by agreement, or under Section 3 of the Partition Act in a suit.
Yes. Delhi High Court's Samadhan and district mediation centres handle such disputes.
Yes, a settlement in court-annexed mediation can be recorded as a decree.
In the civil court where the property lies; district courts up to Rs 2 crore, the High Court above.
A proposal to lift it to Rs 10 crore is pending; for now, Rs 2 crore still applies.
A fixed fee if you are in joint possession; ad valorem on your share if you have been excluded.
The plaint can be rejected. A 2026 Delhi High Court decision upheld such a rejection.
All co-owners, and anyone who bought a share or holds a mortgage.
A decree declaring the shares of the parties.
A decree dividing the property by metes and bounds or ordering its sale.
A provision allowing a decree on admissions, useful when shares are admitted.
Someone the court sends to the property to report on it and suggest a workable split.
Money paid to equalise unequal portions in a partition.
The Supreme Court in Kattukandi (2022) said courts should take up final decree proceedings on their own.
The court can order sale under Section 2 of the Partition Act and divide proceeds.
Under Section 4 of the Partition Act, family members can buy out a stranger who bought a share in a family dwelling house.
Yes, to stop sale, alteration, demolition or obstruction of access.
No. In October 2026 the Delhi High Court restrained a sister from obstructing her UK-resident sister's access.
Yes, to manage the property and collect rent pending the suit.
Yes, by seeking accounts in the partition suit.
Generally no for a co-owner in joint possession, but ouster or exclusion starts a 12-year period.
When a co-owner openly asserts exclusive title against others with their knowledge.
No. There must be a clear hostile assertion known to the others.
It gives 12 years to a person excluded from joint family property, from when exclusion becomes known.
It is often useful to record your claim and invite settlement.
He can sell his undivided share, not the whole property.
No, unless there has been ouster for 12 years or a will or settlement provides so.
Yes, courts can consider it in the final decree. Keep bills.
Not on intestacy, though parents can make a will reflecting it.
Sometimes, but courts do not usually charge a co-owner when others were free to live there.
Property goes according to the will. A partition claim must deal with the will.
Yes, if properly executed and attested.
Probate is not compulsory for most Hindu wills in Delhi, but may be required by some authorities. See our will and probate guide.
Death certificates, family tree, title documents, will if any, tax and utility records, and a site plan.
Not to establish title, but banks and offices may ask for it.
Floor-wise, with each floor's area, undivided land share, common areas, roof and parking described in the deed.
After DDA substitution or mutation in favour of heirs, often after freehold conversion, by deed or sale.
Heirs inherit the deceased's rights; regularising title through PM-UDAY first is advisable.
No. Suraj Lamp (2011) held GPA and agreement to sell do not transfer title.
Usually by family settlement or deed backed by possession and village records.
Revenue courts under the Delhi Land Reforms Act, not ordinary civil courts.
It depends on whether the Delhi Land Reforms Act or general succession law applies; get specific advice.
The court can direct sharing or deposit of rent pending the suit.
Depends on whether it is a proprietorship, partnership or company; usually needs valuation and agreements.
No, property already inherited is not lost on remarriage.
Yes. Under Section 14 she holds it as full owner.
Yes. The old Section 23 restriction was repealed in 2005.
Ask for copies in advance and consult your own advocate before signing.
Partition of HUF or inherited joint property in proportion to shares is generally not a taxable sale; later sale is taxed.
From April 2026 the Income-tax Act, 2025 applies; a chartered accountant can confirm the treatment.
Yes, it attracts stamp duty as an instrument of partition.
Each owner applies for mutation, separate tax assessment and utility connections.
No, mutation is a fiscal record and does not create title.
With the MCD, NDMC, DDA or revenue office depending on the property.
Apply to BSES Rajdhani, BSES Yamuna or Tata Power-DDL with the partition deed or decree.
Through a power of attorney executed before a consular officer or notarised and apostilled, then stamped in Delhi.
Courts often permit video conference evidence.
Subject to foreign exchange rules; consult a bank or chartered accountant.
A few weeks if all heirs agree.
Contested suits often take years; admissions and mediation can shorten them.
Yes, at any stage, and the settlement can be recorded as a decree.
The court can allow substituted service and proceed; their share is protected.
Their legal representatives are substituted.
Yes, with the minor represented by a guardian and the court protecting the minor's interest.
He can mortgage his undivided share; the mortgagee should be joined in a partition suit.
Only that heir's share, subject to the rights of others.
Seek an injunction immediately and report to the MCD if construction is unauthorised.
Usually all joint properties should be included in one suit, though families can divide piecemeal by agreement.
By agreement, yes; all heirs should still sign to avoid later disputes.
Yes. A clear will reduces conflict among heirs.
A member of a Hindu joint family with a right by birth in coparcenary property.
Joint family property of a Hindu Undivided Family.
Only for legal necessity or benefit of the estate; other coparceners can challenge otherwise.
Income a person in wrongful possession received or could have received.
Yes. Shares follow Muslim personal law; procedure is the same.
The Indian Succession Act, 1925.
A step-child does not inherit from a step-parent on intestacy, unless adopted.
Yes, an adopted child has the same rights as a natural child.
Not as an heir. She may have residence rights under the DV Act.
Not if he validly sold his own property during his lifetime.
To fix fair value for buyouts, owelty or court sale.
A public notice warns buyers of your claim; it is useful during disputes.
No. Finding and consulting advocates is free for clients.
No. It is an online platform that helps you reach enrolled advocates; it does not advise on law itself.
Delhi advocates on the platform see your description with the phone number hidden, until one of them accepts it.
Yes. Drafting settlements and partition deeds is common advocate work.
Yes.
Advocates' enrolment is verified before listing.
Yes, enrolled advocates can join and receive requests in their area.
Collect documents, prepare the family tree, send a legal notice, and consider mediation or a suit.
File a partition suit with an injunction application, and consider a public notice.
Challenge it in the partition suit or probate proceedings, with expert evidence where needed.
Yes, if she is a co-owner, she must be a party and agree or be bound by the decree.
Yes, every co-owner must sign.
The others can file a partition suit.
Yes, but the lender's consent is usually needed.
If it creates or transfers rights, yes. Registration also makes later proof easier.
Yes, a compromise decree is common and binding.
This page gives general information based on the sources listed, as checked on 18 October 2026. Every situation needs individual advice. Mara Vakil is a technology platform, not a law firm, and does not give legal advice. Read our disclaimer.
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