Case Note & Summary
This civil revision petition arose from a partition suit filed by the plaintiff, who claimed to be the widow of deceased Ningappa and sought a half share in his properties. She asserted that she was married to Ningappa after the first wife and was thus entitled as a widow under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. The defendant, Ningappa's first wife, contested the claim on the ground that the plaintiff's marriage was void because it was contracted during her lifetime, rendering the plaintiff not a legally wedded wife and hence not an heir. The trial court had passed an order in favour of the plaintiff, leading to the present revision petition before the High Court. The core legal question was whether a second wife whose marriage is void under Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, can claim inheritance rights under the Hindu Succession Act. The defendant argued that the marriage being null and void from its inception, the plaintiff never attained the status of a wife or widow and therefore could not inherit. The plaintiff presumably relied on the provision for widows under Section 10 of the Succession Act, claiming she was a widow of the deceased. The High Court examined the interplay between the Hindu Marriage Act and the Hindu Succession Act. It noted that under Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act, a marriage is void if either party has a living spouse, and such a marriage is a nullity. The court emphasized that Parliament intended to prohibit bigamy and did not intend to confer property rights on a party to such an illegal union. The court further held that the second wife does not fall within the meaning of 'widow' under Section 10 of the Hindu Succession Act and is not an heir. The court found the trial court's order perverse and set it aside. Accordingly, the revision petition was allowed, the impugned order was set aside, and the plaintiff's suit was dismissed as the plaint did not disclose a cause of action.
Headnote
A) Hindu Law - Succession - Rights of Second Wife - Hindu Succession Act, 1956 Sections 10, 16 - Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 Section 5 - Indian Penal Code, 1860 Sections 494, 495 - The plaintiff, second wife of deceased Ningappa, filed a suit for partition claiming a half share in his property. Her marriage took place after 1955 and during the subsistence of the first marriage, thus void under Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act. The court held that she did not acquire the status of a widow and is not an heir under Section 10 of the Hindu Succession Act. Consequently, the suit was dismissed for failure to disclose a cause of action. (Paras 21-22)
Issue of Consideration
Whether a woman whose marriage is void under Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, on account of the first wife being alive, can claim inheritance rights in the property of the deceased husband under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956?
Final Decision
Revision petition allowed; impugned order set aside; plaintiff's suit dismissed as plaint does not disclose cause of action
Law Points
- A marriage in contravention of Section 5(i) of the Hindu Marriage Act
- 1955 is void ab initio
- and the second wife does not become a widow entitled to inherit under Section 10 of the Hindu Succession Act
- 1956
- The second wife from a void marriage is not a 'heir' as defined under the Hindu Succession Act
- Sections 494 and 495 IPC render bigamy punishable
- and the Parliament did not intend to confer rights on a party to an offence
- The trial court cannot disregard binding High Court decisions.
