Team Herald
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed an appeal of Uma Mahesh Bandekar of Margao, Goa, holding that she does not lose right over the lease premises just because she has since married.
The Bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and M R Shah held that “a married daughter shall have a right of succession in the ‘lease premises’ and the same ought to have been included in the list of assets in the inventory proceedings.
Setting aside the order of the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court on May 5, 2016, the Court ordered amendment in the final chart of partitioning done on July 31, 2017 as per Section 446 of the Inventory Proceeding Act, 2012.
Uma had challenged her brother ousting her from the “lease premises” of a partnership firm “Ramnath Anant Kesarkar” run by their late father Sadanand V Marathe from the tenanted premises of one Jairam Vasant Katkar in Margao.
After the death of both Sadanand and his wife, the dispute arose in the inventory proceedings. In June 2015, the civil judge of Margaon refused to enlist the tenanted premises to the estate of the deceased to entertain Uma’s claim.
The High Court held that the married daughter would not qualify as a tenant in terms of the Goa Rent Act. It also examined Portuguese Civil Code and held that it stands repealed and the parties shall be governed only by the Goa Rent Act.
