In Brief
In this succession dispute involving the heirs of Perumal Naidu, the Supreme Court considered whether descendants of pre-deceased daughters could claim shares in properties received by female heirs under a Will. The Court held that the High Court erred by applying Section 15(2)(a) of the Hindu Succession Act for the first time in a second appeal without framing it as a substantial question of law. Additionally, since the category of heirs (daughter of a pre-deceased daughter of a pre-deceased daughter) was added to Class I only in 2005, it had no retrospective application to a death occurring in 1987. The Court restored the trial court's decree, dismissing the plaintiffs' suit and upholding that the female heirs had acquired absolute ownership, not merely life interest, in the properties bequeathed to them.
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