ISSUE:
Whether the High Court correctly interpreted the terms of Section 14 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (the "Act") in reaching the decision that the widow of the deceased P. Venkata Subba Rao obtained an absolute interest in the property via the operation of Section 14 of the Act?
RULE:
The wide definition of "possessed by" in Section 14(1) may entail that a person is the legal owner of a piece of property even though they do not have actual possession of it. Section 14(1) of the 1956 Act states that if a widow was granted a share of the marital estate in a preliminary judgement before or at the time of the Act's passing, but had not yet gained real possession as part of a final decree, she would be regarded to be in possession of the property. The law prohibits the possession of a rank trespasser without a right or title, therefore the widow's ownership must be under a claim, right, or title. In Section 14(2), "restricted estate" includes both the limited interest indicated in Section 14(1) and any additional transferee limitations.