In Brief
A widow who was a foreign national gifted a portion of her property to the respondent without obtaining prior permission from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as required under Section 31 of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973. The appellant, the deceased owner's legal successor, challenged the validity of the gift deeds. The High Court had upheld their validity, holding that lack of RBI permission does not render transactions void. The Supreme Court held that the requirement for prior RBI permission under Section 31 is mandatory. Transactions in contravention thereof are unenforceable in law and may be challenged by affected parties. The Court declared the gift deeds unenforceable and allowed the appeal, reversing the High Court's judgment and granting the appellant possession of the disputed property.
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