MURAD vs KARAM And Other
This civil petition for leave to appeal arises from a judgment of the Lahore High Court concerning a dispute over inheritance following the termination of a limited estate held under custom. The core legal question involved the validity of a gift made in 1953 by a limited owner, Mst. Karam Bibi, and the subsequent devolution of property upon the termination of her life estate under the relevant Shariat application statutes. The Supreme Court held that a limited owner could not competently gift the property, particularly where an earlier decree in a reversioner's suit annulling the gift had attained finality, and that upon the termination of the limited estate under custom, the estate devolved upon the heirs in accordance with Muslim Personal Law. The key principle laid down is that limited estates under custom stand terminated by subsequent legislation, requiring inheritance to be determined strictly under Muslim Shariat law while ignoring invalid alienations made by limited owners.
- Whether a limited owner under custom can competently make a valid gift of property pertaining to the limited estate?
- How does the termination of a limited estate under custom affect prior alienations and subsequent inheritance rights?
- Are heirs entitled to inherit according to Muslim Personal Law upon the termination of a life estate?
- West Pakistan Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act 1962
- Punjab Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Act (Amendment Ordinance No. XIII) of 1983
ORDER
1. MUHAMMAD AFZAL ZULLAH, J.--Leave to appeal has been sought from judgment dated 17-11-1979 of the Lahore High Court whereby the petitioner's Civil Revision Petition arising out of a case of inheritance, was dismissed. It is not necessary to give the details of the entire litigation. Suffices it to note that Mst. Karam Bibi, paternal aunt of Murad petitioner was in possession, as limited owner, of the property left by Murad's paternal uncle Imam Din who died in 1934. Mst. Karam Bibi died in 1964.
2. She had, however, in 1953 made a gift in favour of the petitioner; which was annulled in a reversioner's suit. After her death, it is stated by the learned counsel, her nephew Hakam respondent has succeeded in inheriting --th share of Imam Din's property; which Karam Bibi would have inherited in the capacity of a widow as a Muslim Law heir. Learned counsel for the petitioner explained that Murad petitioner wants to retain only --th share which would have been inherited by Karam Bibi as widow of Imam Din, on the basis that she made a gift in petitioner's favour. He, therefore, according to the learned counsel, has a preferential right against a Muslim Law heir of Karam Bibi, namely, Hakam respondent.
2. Learned counsel has not been able to satisfy us that Karam Bibi, a limited owner, had competently made a gift of the property in favour of the petitioner particularly so when in a reversioner's suit the petitioner had lost on this issue in the earlier litigation and he had not challenged the decree passed against him. Thereafter, the limited estates held under Custom ultimately terminated on the enforcement of the West Pakistan Muslim Personal Law (Shariat)
3. Application Act (No. VI of 1962), as amended by Punjab Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Act (Amendment Ordinance No. XIII) of 1983. The question of inheritance in so far as the estate of Imam Din was concerned had to be decided in accordance with the law and the gift had to be ignored.
4. The heirs of Mst. Karam Bibi, whose life estate terminated, were entitled to get the share which she would 'have obtained as Muslim Law heir from the inheritance of her deceased issueless husband Imam Din.
5. The same result having been reached through the impugned judgment, no justification has been made out for interference by this Court. This petition accordingly, is dismissed.
Cited by 6 cases
- Mst. KALSOOM BEGUM vs MEMBER JUDICIAL, BOARD OF REVENUE 2009 MLD 1362
- Mst. Kalsoom Begum vs Member, Board Of Revenue, Etc. K.L.R. 2009 Civil Cases 310
- ROSHAN AKHTAR Versus MUHAMMAD BOOTA 2000 SCMR 1845
- QADIR BAKHSH vs Mst. BAKHAT BHARI and others 1998 CLC 41
- SUBA Versus FATIMA BIBI 1996 SCMR 158
- SULTAN ALI and others vs Mst. MEHRO and others 1996 CLC 483