In Brief
This case concerns the devolution of property under Marumakkathayam law, a system of succession practised in Kerala. The appellants challenged a decree awarding scheduled properties to a tharwad (joint family) and its branches. The Supreme Court held that properties obtained by a female with her children as a group retain tharwad characteristics, but rejected the majority view in Mary Cheriyan that a single female receiving property in partition can form a separate tharwad. The Court affirmed concurrent findings that both scheduled properties belonged to the tharwad, applying the minority position prospectively only.
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