The Karnataka High Court has clarified that under the Indian Succession Act, a mother does not have a legal right to inherit the property of her son if he dies intestate (without making a will) and is survived by a wife and children. The Court noted that the rules of succession make clear distinctions about who qualifies as a legal heir in such situations.
In the case before the Court, a man died without leaving behind a will, and the question arose as to whether his mother could claim a share in his self-acquired property along with his widow and children. The mother contended that she should be treated as a legal heir, but the High Court rejected this argument based on statutory provisions.
The Court explained that in an intestate succession under the Act, the class I legal heirs are given priority. When a deceased person is survived by a spouse and lineal descendants (children), those heirs take precedence and inherit the estate exclusively. A mother, in such circumstances, does not stand ahead of the wife or children in the succession hierarchy.
Accordingly, the High Court held that the widow and children of the deceased son are entitled to inherit his estate, and the mother has no right to claim a share in it under the law of intestate succession. The judgment reaffirms the statutory scheme for inheritance and avoids ambiguity about the rights of different family members in such cases.
