ISSUE:
Whether the suit property was coparcenary property or Dharam Singh's self-acquired property?
What is the validity of the Sale Deeds signed on 01.09.1999 by Dharam Singh in favour of Respondent No. 1, and the following Sale Deed performed by Respondent No. 1 in favour of Respondent Nos. 2 & 3?
RULE:
If a succession occurred under pre-Hindu Succession Act, 1956 legislation, then Mitakshara law would apply to the parties. In Hindu law, a male heir has a right to share equally in the inheritance of his paternal male ancestor with his male descendants up to three generations removed from him (the "three degrees rule"). Even after the implementation of the Hindu Succession Act of 1956, the type of property would continue to be that of coparcenary property.
After the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 came into existence, this stance has undergone a shift. After the year 1956, an individual's self-acquired property inherited from his paternal ancestors is no longer considered coparcenary property but rather the individual's own.