In Brief
A widow (Ajit Kaur) sought to claim absolute ownership of ancestral land under Section 14(1) of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, based on her possession following an oral gift to her mother for maintenance. The High Court had upheld a declaratory decree recognizing the heirs' reversionary rights and upheld a will bequeathing the property to other heirs, excluding her. The Supreme Court held that mere possession is not enough to claim absolute ownership under Section 14(1); possession must derive from a recognized mode of acquisition (inheritance, devise, partition, gift, or maintenance). Since the appellant's possession lacked valid legal title and was based on a disputed oral gift, she could not invoke Section 14(1). The Court dismissed the appeal, affirming that succession opens under statutory law, not customary rules, once the Hindu Succession Act applies.
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