The provisions of Article 14 do not apply to bequests: Supreme Court of Appeals
The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that; in circumstances of will execution, the courts have no jurisdiction to determine whether the testator’s distribution was fair and equitable to all of his children [Swarnlatha and ors v. Kalavathy and ors].
The principles guiding Article 14 of the Indian Constitution do not apply to dispositions under a will, according; to a bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and V Ramasubramanian, and; the testators are not compelled to provide; a fair and equal distribution of their; property to all of their offspring.
“In determining the validity of a will’s execution, the Court has no jurisdiction to determine whether the testator’s distribution was fair and equitable to all of his children. Article 14 does not apply to dispositions made under a will, according to the Court “The Court made its decision.
The Bench went on to say that; the exclusion of one of the natural heirs from; the gift cannot be used; as a basis for concluding that; there are suspicious circumstances.
Mannar Reddiar and Adhilakshmiammal were a married couple with two boys, VM Chandrasekaran and VM Sivakumar, and a daughter, Kalavathy.
Both the mother and father donated; their estates to their sons in their wills, rather than; the daughter, on the grounds that she adequately cared for at the time of her wedding.
VM Chandrasekaran, the eldest son, died in October 1999, leaving behind his wife Swarnalatha and two sons, C Karthikeyan and C Rishikesan, who were the appellants in front of the Supreme Court.
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