In Brief
This case concerns the inheritance rights of great-grandchildren to property owned by their ancestors under Hindu succession law. The original ancestor Perumal Naidu executed a will in 1923 bequeathing property to his children with absolute ownership rights. Centuries later, after multiple deaths in the family line, great-grandchildren Seetharama Naidu and Sagunthala sought to claim a share of properties held by their distant relatives. The Supreme Court held that while the High Court correctly found the original will conferred absolute (not limited) interest, it erred in applying the plaintiffs' category of heir to inherited property, which was not recognized in law until 2005 — well after succession opened in 1987. The 2005 amendment applied prospectively only. Since the plaintiffs' category did not legally exist in 1987, they had no inheritance rights then. The Court therefore allowed the appeal and dismissed the plaintiffs' suit.
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