An Inquisition under Transfer of Property Act.
Saji Koduvath, Advocate, Kottayam
Section 19 & 21, TP Act
Section 19 of Transfer of Properties Act reads as under:
- “19. Vested interest.- Where, on a transfer of property , an interest therein is created in favour of a person without specifying the time when it is to take effect, or in terms specifying it is to take effect forthwith or on the happening of an event which must happen, such interest is vested, unless a contrary intention appears from the terms of the transfer.
- A vested interest is not defeated by the death of the transferee before he obtains possession.
- Explanation.- An intention that an interest shall not be vested is not to be inferred merely from a provision whereby the enjoyment thereof is postponed, or whereby a prior interest in the same property is given or reserved to some other person, or whereby income arising from the property is directed to be accumulated until the time of enjoyment arrives, or from a provision that if a particular event shall happen the interest shall pass to another person.”
Section 21 of Transfer of Properties Act reads as under:
- “21. Contingent interest.- Where, on a transfer of property, an interest therein is created in favour of a person to take effect only on the happening of a specified uncertain event, or if a specified uncertain event shall not happen, such person thereby acquires a contingent interest in the property. Such interest becomes a vested interest, in the former case, on the happening of the event, in the latter, when the happening of the event becomes impossible.”
See Blog for detailed analysis: Transfer of Property with Conditions & Contingent Interests
Instances of ‘vested right‘ and that on ‘condition’
Usually (absolute) vested right is invested in the following two circumstances:
- Allow to enjoy property, absolutely, on attaining majority.
- Absolutely giving property to one, subject to a right to enjoy for life of another.
Section 119 and 120 of the Indian Succession Act speaks about vesting of legacy.
Section 119 of the Indian Succession Act reads as follows:
- “119. Date of vesting of legacy when payment or possession postponed – Whereby the terms of a bequest the legatee is not entitled to immediate possession of the thing bequeathed, a right to receive it at the proper time shall, unless a contrary intention appears by the will, become vested in the legatee on the testator’s death, and shall pass to the legatee’s representatives if he dies before that time and without having received the legacy, and in such cases the legacy is from the testator’s death said to be vested in interest.
- Explanation : An intention that a legacy to any person shall not become vested in interest in him is not to be inferred merely from a provision whereby the payment or possession of the thing bequeathed is postponed, or whereby a prior interest therein is bequeathed to some other person, or whereby the income arising from the fund bequeathed is directed to be accumulated until the time of payment arrives, or from a provision that, if a particular event shall happen, the legacy shall go over to another person”.
Section 120 of the Indian Succession Act reads as follows:
- “120. Date of vesting when legacy contingent upon specified uncertain event. – (1) A legacy bequeathed in case a specified uncertain event shall happen does not vest until that event happens.
- (2) A legacy bequeathed in case a specified uncertain event shall not happen does not vest until the happening of that event becomes impossible.
- (3) In either case, until the condition has been fulfilled, the interest of the legatee is called contingent.
- Exception. Where a fund is bequeathed to any person upon his attaining a particular age, and the will also gives to him absolutely the income to arise from the fund before he reaches that age, or directs the income, or so much of it as may be necessary, to be applied for his benefit, the bequest of the fund is not contingent.”
Even in cases of ‘Contingent interest’, Interest in praesenti may be created
In transfers with ‘contingent interest’, though the interest would take effect only after satisfying the condition, the transfer becomes effective immediately. Therefore, the interest created may be in praesenti with the condition; and on satisfying the condition, it becomes a vested interest.
In Arumugham Chettiar v. A. Vallinayagam Pillai, (1975) 2 MLJ 46, the point considered was whether ‘absolute’ rights had been given to Sivagnanathammal in the will so that subsequent direction in the will that the property will go to sons of Sivagnanathammal was repugnant and it could not at all be sustained. The Madras High Court held as under:
- “I have been taken through Exhibit A-2 the will dated 12th June, 1931 created by Thiruvengadathammal. It is clear from paragraph 6 of the will that the suit properties have been absolutely given to the sons of Sivagnanathammal with a right to Sivagnanathammal to enjoy for life only the income from the properties without in any way encumbering the same. Thus, it is clear that the argument advanced by T.R. Mani as though absolute right has been given to Sivagnanathammal and that the subsequent direction in the will is repugnant, cannot at all be sustained.”
The court observed that a vested right being created absolutely on Surianarayana Chettiar, it was not ‘expectancy of succession by survivorship or other merely contingent or possible right or interest‘.
Read in this Cluster:
Civil Procedure Code
- Civil Rights and Jurisdiction of Civil Courts
- Res Judicata and Constructive Res Judicata
- Order II, Rule 2 CPC – Not to Vex Defendants Twice
- Law on Summons to Defendants and Witnesses
- Notice to Produce Documents in Civil Cases
- Production of Documents: Order 11, Rule 14 & Rule 12
- Sec. 91 CPC and Suits Against Wrongful Acts
- Remedies Under Sec. 92 CPC
- Mandatory Injunction – Law and Principles
- Interrogatories: When Court Allows, When Rejects?
- Decree in OI R8 CPC-Suit & Eo-Nomine Parties
- Pecuniary & Subject-Matter Jurisdiction of Civil Courts
- INJUNCTION is a ‘Possessory Remedy’ in Indian Law
Power of attorney
- No Adjudication If Power of Attorney is Sufficiently Stamped
- Notary Attested Power-of-Attorney Sufficient for Registration
- Permission when a Power of Attorney Holder Files Suit
Title, ownership and Possession
- Transfer of Property with Conditions & Contingent Interests
- POSSESSION is a Substantive Right in Indian Law
- Adverse Possession: An Evolving Concept
- Adverse Possession: Burden to Plead Sabotaged
- When ‘Possession Follows Title’; ‘Title Follows Possession’?
- Ultimate Ownership of All Property Vests in State; It is an Incident of Sovereignty.
- Preemption is a Very Weak Right; For, Property Right is a Constitutional & Human Right
- Transfer of Property with Conditions & Contingent Interests
Principles and Procedure
- Will – Probate and Letters of Administration
- Best Evidence Rule in Indian Law
- Declaration and Injunction
- Pleadings Should be Specific; Why?
- Does Alternate Remedy Bar Civil Suits and Writ Petitions?
- Void, Voidable, Ab Initio Void, and Sham Transactions
- Can Courts Award Interest on Equitable Grounds?
- Natural Justice – Not an Unruly Horse
- ‘Sound-mind’ and ‘Unsound-Mind’
- Can a Party to Suit Examine Opposite Party, as of Right?
- Forfeiture of Earnest Money and Reasonable Compensation
- Doctrine of ‘Right to be Forgotten’ in Indian Law
- Who has to fix Damages in Tort and Contract?
- Admission, Relevancy and Proof
- Relevancy, Admissibility and Proof of Documents
- Proof and Truth of Documents
- Production, Admissibility & Proof Of Documents
- Modes of Proof – Admission, Expert Evidence, Presumption etc.
- Marking Documents Without Objection – Do Contents Proved
- Substantive Documents, and Documents used for Refreshing Memory and Contradicting
- Oral Evidence on Contents of Document, Irrelevant
Land Laws
- Ultimate Ownership of All Property Vests in State; It is an Incident of Sovereignty.
- Land Acquired Cannot be Returned – Even if it is Not Used for the Purpose Acquired
- ‘Mutation’ by Revenue Authorities will not Confer ‘Title’
- FERA, 1973 And Transfer of Immovable Property by a Foreigner
- Relevant provisions of Kerala Land Reforms Act in a Nutshell
- Government is the OWNER of (Leasehold) Plantation Lands in Kerala.
Evidence Act – General
- Expert Evidence and Appreciation of Evidence
- How to Contradict a Witness under Sec. 145, Evidence Act
- Rules on Burden of proof and Adverse Inference
- Best Evidence Rule in Indian Law
- Modes of Proof – Admission, Expert Evidence, Presumption etc.
- Significance of Scientific Evidence in Judicial Process
- Polygraphy, Narco Analysis and Brain Mapping Tests
- Sec. 65B
- Sections 65A & 65B, Evidence Act and Arjun Panditrao: in Nutshell
- Sec. 65B, Evidence Act: Arjun Paditrao Criticised.
- Sec. 65B Evidence Act Simplified
- ‘STATEMENTS’ alone can be proved by ‘CERTIFICATE’ u/s. 65B
- Sec. 65B, Evidence Act: Certificate for Computer Output
- Certificate is Required Only for ‘Computer Output’; Not for ‘Electronic Records’: Arjun Panditrao Explored.
- Law on Documents
- Are RTI Documents Admissible in Evidence as a ‘Public Documents’?
- Oral Evidence on Contents of Document, Irrelevant
- Marking Documents Without Objection – Do Contents Stand Proved?
- Proof of Documents & Objections To Admissibility – How & When?
- Notary-Attested Documents: Presumption, Rebuttable
- Presumptions on Registered Documents & Collateral Purpose
- Notice to Produce Documents in Civil Cases
- Production of Documents: Order 11, Rule 14 & Rule 12
- Modes of Proof – Admission, Expert Evidence, Presumption etc.
- Presumptions on Documents and Truth of its Contents
- Proof and Truth of Documents
- Unstamped & Unregistered Documents and Collateral Purpose
- Marking Documents Without Objection – Do Contents Proved
- Production, Admissibility & Proof Of Documents
- Substantive Documents, and Documents used for Refreshing Memory and Contradicting
- Visual and Audio Evidence (Including Photographs, Cassettes, Tape-recordings, Films, CCTV Footage, CDs, e-mails, Chips, Hard-discs, Pen-drives)
- Relevancy, Admissibility and Proof of Documents
- No Adjudication Needed If Power of Attorney is Sufficiently Stamped
- Can an Unregistered Sale Agreement be Used for Specific Performance
Contract Act
- ‘Sound-mind’ and ‘Unsound-Mind’ in Indian Civil Laws
- Forfeiture of Earnest Money and Reasonable Compensation
- Who has to fix Damages in Tort and Contract?
- Can an Unregistered Sale Agreement be Used for Specific Performance
Easement
- What is Easement?
- Does Right of Easement Allow to ‘Enjoy’ After Making a Construction?
- What is “period ending within two years next before the institution of the suit”?
- Is the Basis of Every Easement, Theoretically, a Grant
- Extent of Easement (Width of Way) in Easement of Necessity
- Can an Easement-Way be Altered by the Owner of the Land?
- Village Pathways and Right to Bury are not Easements.
- Custom & Customary Easements in Indian Law
- ‘Additional Burden Loses Lateral Support’ – Incorrect Proposition
Stamp Act
- Adjudication as to Proper Stamp under Stamp Act
- Unstamped & Unregistered Documents and Collateral Purpose
Will
Book No. 2: A Handbook on Constitutional Issues
- Judicial & Legislative Activism in India: Principles and Instances
- Can Legislature Overpower Court Decisions by an Enactment?
- Separation of Powers: Who Wins the Race – Legislature or Judiciary?
- Kesavananda Bharati Case: Never Ending Controversy
- Mullaperiyar Dam: Disputes and Adjudication of Legal Issues
- Article 370: Is There Little Chance for Supreme Court Interference
- Maratha Backward Community Reservation: SC Fixed Limit at 50%.
- Polygraphy, Narco Analysis and Brain Mapping Tests
- CAA Challenge: Divergent Views
- FERA, 1973 And Transfer of Immovable Property by a Foreigner
- Doctrine of ‘Right to be Forgotten’ in Indian Law
- Religious issues
- Secularism and Art. 25 & 26 of the Indian Constitution
- Secularism & Freedom of Religion in Indian Panorama
- ‘Ban on Muslim Women to Enter Mosques, Unconstitutional’
- No Reservation to Muslim and Christian SCs/STs (Dalits) Why?
- Parsi Women – Excommunication for Marrying Outside
- Knanaya Endogamy & Constitution of India
- Sabarimala Review Petitions & Reference to 9-Judge Bench
- SABARIMALA REVIEW and Conflict in Findings between Shirur Mutt Case & Durgah Committee Case
- Ayodhya Disputes: M. Siddiq case –Pragmatic Verdict
Book No. 3: Common Law of CLUBS and SOCIETIES in India
- General
- Property & Trust
- Suits
- Amendment and Dissolution
- Rights and Management
- Election
- State Actions
Book No. 4: Common Law of TRUSTS in India
- General Principles
- Dedication and Vesting
- Trustees and Management
- Breach of Trust
- Suits by or against Trusts
- Law on Hindu Religious Endowments
- Temples, Gurudwaras, Churches and Mosques – General
- Constitutional Principles
- Ayodhya and Sabarimala Disputes
- General
