In Brief
A widow in the erstwhile Sangli State became a co-sharer ('Sahabhagidar') in her husband's joint family property upon his death in 1932, under the Sangli Widow's Right to Property Act, 1935, even though the Act was passed after his death. When she later (in 1978) had an adopted son, he inherited her property rights as her legal heir. The Supreme Court held that the widow's vested rights could not be divested by later application of succession laws, and her adopted son was entitled to claim partition of her share. The appeal was allowed and the suit decreed.
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