Can Son Claim Birthright In Father's Exclusive Property? What Supreme Court Said

A son cannot claim a birthright in his father's share of a property that has already been partitioned and become his father's exclusive property, the Supreme Court has held while dismissing an appeal seeking a half share in the property.The court was examining whether a son could seek partition of his father's property during the latter's lifetime on the ground that it was ancestral or joint family property.The case arose from a partition suit filed in 1997 on behalf of a minor son, through his mother, seeking half share in a property measuring 1,811 sqft.

He said the property originally belonged to his grandfather and that he had acquired rights in it by birth.The Supreme Court, however, noted that the grandfather's death and the opening of succession preceded the appellant's birth.