Case Note & Summary
The case involves a dispute over the inclusion of lease premises in inventory proceedings for the estate of Late Sadanand V. Marathe and Late Nirmalabai S. Marathe. The appellants, Uma Mahesh Bandekar (a married daughter) and another, challenged the exclusion of the lease premises from the list of assets in Regular Inventory Proceeding No. 11/2013/C. The Inventory Court and the High Court of Bombay at Goa had excluded the premises, holding that under Section 2(o) of the Goa Rent Act, a married daughter does not qualify as a tenant and thus has no right to the lease. The Supreme Court, however, allowed the appeal, holding that the inventory proceedings are governed by the Goa Succession, Special Notaries and Inventory Proceeding Act, 2012, which does not discriminate between married and unmarried daughters or sons. The Court emphasized that the Goa Rent Act applies only to landlord-tenant disputes and not to succession matters. The Court set aside the impugned orders and directed that the lease premises be included in the inventory proceedings for partition according to law.
Headnote
A) Succession Law - Inventory Proceedings - Rights of Married Daughter - Goa Succession, Special Notaries and Inventory Proceeding Act, 2012, Sections 3, 5, 9, 68, 399 - The issue was whether a married daughter is entitled to inherit lease premises in inventory proceedings. The Court held that under the Inventory Proceeding Act, 2012, there is no distinction between married and unmarried daughters or sons, and the definition of 'tenant' under the Goa Rent Act is not applicable to succession matters. The courts below erred in excluding the lease premises from the list of assets based on the Goa Rent Act. (Paras 4-6) B) Rent Control - Definition of Tenant - Applicability in Succession - Goa Daman & Diu Buildings (Lease, Rent and Eviction) Control Act, 1968, Section 2(o) - The High Court relied on Section 2(o) to deny the married daughter's right, but the Supreme Court held that the Goa Rent Act governs landlord-tenant disputes, not succession. The Inventory Proceeding Act, 2012 exclusively governs inheritance, and the lease premises must be included as an asset. (Paras 4-5) C) Repeal - Portuguese Civil Code - Goa Rent Act - Section 59 of Goa Rent Act - The respondents argued that Decree No. 43525 of the Portuguese Civil Code stood repealed under Section 59. However, the Court noted that the Inventory Proceeding Act, 2012, not the Portuguese Code, governs succession, and the repeal does not affect the married daughter's rights under the new Act. (Paras 5-6)
Issue of Consideration
Whether a married daughter has a right of succession to lease premises in inventory proceedings under the Goa Succession, Special Notaries and Inventory Proceeding Act, 2012, and whether the definition of 'tenant' under the Goa Rent Act, 1968 applies to such proceedings.
Final Decision
The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, set aside the impugned orders of the High Court and the Inventory Court, and directed that the lease premises be included in the inventory proceedings for partition according to law.
Law Points
- Succession rights of married daughter
- Applicability of Goa Rent Act vs. Inventory Proceeding Act
- Repeal of Portuguese Civil Code provisions
