Allahabad High Court: Property in Wife’s Name Belongs to Family, Says Homemakers’ Rights Protected

In a big decision, the Allahabad High Court stated that if a husband buys property in his wife’s name and she doesn’t earn money, it’s considered family property.

Justice ArunKumar Singh Deshwal explained that in Hindu tradition, husbands often buy things in their wives’ names for the family. The court’s decision came from a case where a son wanted to share ownership of a property his father had bought.

The court said, according to Section 114 of the Indian Evidence Act, it’s common for husbands to buy property in their wives’ names in Hindu families. They assume that unless proven otherwise, such properties are for the whole family, especially because homemakers usually don’t earn money on their own.

The ruling clarified that this assumption holds true unless there’s proof that the wife bought the property with her own money.

The case was about Saurabh Gupta, who wanted to claim ownership of a property his father had bought before he passed away. The property was in his mother’s name, and she said it was a gift from her husband because she didn’t have her own income. Saurabh tried to stop the property from being transferred to someone else, but the trial court said no.

However, on February 15, the Allahabad High Court disagreed with the trial court. It said that when a Hindu husband buys property in his wife’s name, especially with his own money, it’s automatically considered property for the whole family. The court stressed the importance of protecting such property from being wrongly transferred.

This decision by the court sets a new understanding of property bought by husbands in their wives’ names in Hindu families. By presuming it’s family property, the court wants to protect the rights of homemakers and prevent unfair transfers of assets. This ruling provides clear guidelines for similar cases, underlining the importance of protecting family rights and interests.