PARTAP SINGH versus UNION OF INDIA & ORS

VENKATARAMIAH, J. The above petition for special leave is filed by the petitioner under Article p6 of the Constitution requesting the Court to grant leave to him to prefer an appeal against the judgment and order of the High Court of Punjab Haryana in. R.8.A. No. 1254 of 1975. He has also filed a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution questioning the constitutionality of section 14(1) of the Hindu Suc~ession Act, 1956 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'). Since the two petitions are connected, they' are disposed of this common judgment;

p. 775

One Amar Singh was the owner of certain agricultural lands measuring in all 33 Bighas 5 Biswas in the village Fatuhi Khera, Tehsil Muktsar in the State of Punjab. He died in or about the year 1932 leaving behind him two widows by name Jagir Kaur and Har Kaur. The petitioner was his adopted son. Under an arrangement each of the two widows had been given one-third share in the lands belonging to their husband in lieu of their right of maintenance. In November, 1942 Har Kaur surrendered her one-third share in the lands in favour of the petitioner and it was mutated in his name on March 23, 1943. In 1945 the petitioner filed a suit against Jagir Kaur, the other widow of Amar Singh, for obtaining a declaration that she had. no right, title or interest of any sort in the lands belonging to Amar Singh. During the pend.ency of the said suit a compromise was effected on July 18, 1945 under which the parties agreed that Jagir Kaur could retain the one-third share in the lands in question in lieu maintenance and on her death the peti ticner should possession of the same. Accordingly a decree was passed. Later Jagir Kaur, who was in possession of the said one-third the lands, bequeathed the said share in favour of Hardam the respondent in the Special Leave Petition, under January 25, 1971 and di.ed within a few days thereafter. after on April 2, 1971 the petitioner filed the present of which this appeal arises, claiming that Jagir acquired one-third share in the lands of Amar Singh for time under the compromJse decree which conferred on her limited estate and that on her death he should get possession the same. He urged that in the circUIIi.Stances, the interest Jagir Kaur in the lands allotted to her for maintenance compromise decree did not become an absolute estate in under sectfon 14(1) of the Act. Since it could not be that Jagir Kaur had a pre-existing right to claim maiGtenance from the estate of Amar Singh, the Trial Court held interest of Jagir Kaur in the lands allotted to her had become enlarged into an absolute estate on the coming into force Act and, therefore, the petitioner could not c.laim the question after her death on the basis of the compromise Accordingly, the suit was dismissed. Against the said and decree of the Trial Court the petitioner filed before the Additional District Judge, Faridkot. In the the said appeal the petitioner conceded that the Will genuine and valid one, but it was contended that section the Act was not applicable to the case but it was governed section 14(2) of the Act. The appeal was, however, dismissed.' Second Appeal filed by the petitioner before the High Punjab & Haryana against the judgment and decree of the Judge was also dismissed. The Special Leave Petition, referred above, is filed against the judgment and decree passed High Court. Realising that it is not possible for him to in his suit in the presence of section 14(1) of the petitioner has filed the above Writ Petition questioning consti.tlltional valid1. ty.

pp. 775–776

Two contentions are urged by the learned counsel petitioner in support of his plea that section 14(1) of is unconstitutional; (1) that the provision contained in 14(1) of th~ Act is vague and uncertain; and (2) that violative of Article 14 and 15(1) of the Constitution attempted to favour ~nly one section of the Hindu women on the ground of sex to the prejudice of of that community. In support of his first limb of attack on the following observations made by this Court in v.

pp. 776–777, margin G

Ors. v. v. Sesha Redd! (dead) by L.Rs. [1977] (3) at page 266-267 :

p. 777, margin A

"It is indeed unfortunate that though it became evi-

p. 777, margin A

dent .as far back as 1967 that sub Sectfons (1) and (2) .. of section 14 were presenting serious difficulties of construction in cases where property was received by a Hindu female in lieu of maintenance and the instrument granting such property prescribed a restricted estate for her in the property and divergence of judicial opinion was.creating a situation which might well be described as chaotic, robbing the law of that modicum of certainty which it must always possess in order to .guide the affairs of men, the legisldture, for all these years, did not care to step in to .remove the . constructional dilemna facing , the courts and adopted an attitude of indifference and. inaction, untroubled and unmoved by the large number.of cases on this point encumbering the. files of different courts in the country, when by. the simple expedient of an amendment, . it could have silenced judicial conflict and put an end to n~edless litigation. This is a classic instance of a statutory provision which, by reason of its inapt draftsmanship, has .created endless confusion for litigants ·and proved a paradise for lawyers. It illustrates forcibly the need of an authority or body to be set up by the Government or the Legislature which would constantly .keep in touch with the adJUdicatory authorities in the country as also with the legal profession and immediately respond by making recommendations for suitable amendments whenever it is found . that a particular satuto:cy provision . is, by reason of inspt language or unhappy draftsmanship, creating difficulty of construction . or is otherwise inadequate or defective or is not well conceived and is consequently counter productive of the result. it was intended to achieve. If there is a close inter action between the adjudicatory wing of the State .and a dynamic and ever alert authority or body which responds swiftly to the draw·backs, and deficiencies in the law in actiofl, much of the time and money, which is at present expanded in fruitless litig~tion, would be saved and law would achieve a certain amount clarity, certainty and simplicity which alone can make

pp. 777–778, margin A

it easily intelligible to the people."

p. 778, margin A

It is contended by the learned counsel for the petitioner quite ingeniously that since Parliament had not amended section 14 after the above judgment of this Court as indicated by the Court, the said section could not relied upon any longer.

p. 778, margin A

We do not find any substance in the contention that section 14(1) of the Act is vague and is not capabl~ of implementation because .this Court gave effect of that sub-section in the very judgment on which the petitioner relies notwithstanding the observations extracted above. Those observations were made this Court only with a view to bringing to the notice of Parliament that the provisions of section 14 required to be recast order to avoid any possible litigation arising on account of the clumsy language used in section 14 of the Act. The Court, however, did not find any difficulty in construing and applying section.14(1) of the Act to the case of the appellant No. 1 that case and in declaring that the property which had been allotted to her under compromise in lieu or satisfaction of right of maintenance became her absolute property on the coming into force of the Act. The doubt, if any, about the meaning of that section was set at rest by the above decision. In the instant case the position of Jagir Kaur was in no way different from the position of the appellant No. 1 in 'J'ul""'!l'"''s case (supra). The first ground, therefore, should fail.

p. 778, margin A

There is very little substance in the second contention raised by the petitioner also. The submission made on behalf of the petitioner in this case over-looks the benign constitutional provision in clause (3) of Article 15 of the Constitution which provides that nothing in Article 15 shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children. The said provision over-rides clause (1) of Article 15 of the Constitution which provides that the State shall not discriminate.against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them. Section 14(1) of the Act was enacted to reme:dy to some extent the plight of a Hindu woman who could not claim absolute interest in the properties inherited by her from her husband but who could only enjoy theffi with all the restrictions attached to a widow's estate under the Hindu law. There is now hardly any justification for the males belonging to the Hindu to raise any objection to the beneficent provisions contained in section 14(1) of the Act on the ground of hostile discrimination. The above provision is further protected . by the express provision contained in clause (3) of Article 15, since it is a special provision enacted for the benefit of Hindu women. We do not find any merit in the Writ Petition. The Writ Petition is dismissed. Consequently, the Special Leave Petition also has to be dismissed. It is accordingly dismissed. A.P .J. Petitions dismissed.

pp. 778–779, margin C