In Brief
The Supreme Court upheld the appellant's ownership of property bequeathed under a 1968 will, finding that a testator can grant a limited life estate to his second wife for maintenance purposes without it automatically converting to absolute ownership. The judgment rejected the contention that the wife's limited rights crystallized into absolute rights under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. The Court distinguished earlier precedents relying on post-1956 amendments and held that the doctrine of res judicata applied—the wife's limited estate was established in prior litigation through the Supreme Court. Third-party purchasers from the wife could not claim better title than she possessed, and the dubious timing of sale deeds during pending litigation disqualified them as bona fide purchasers.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.