Hindu widow's adopted kid has claim only to her assets: SC

The Supreme Court (SC) on 17 November 2016 held that a child adopted by a Hindu widow will not have any rights on the property of the woman's deceased husband. The child can claim only over the property inherited by his mother.

The ruling was passed by a bench of Justices A R Dave and L Nageswara Rao with reference to the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956.

The court also ruled that the adoption of a child will not disturb or take away the rights of other family members to which they were entitled before the adoption.

Background
The ruling of the Supreme Court came on the plea of an adopted son claiming his right over the entire property of his family. In this case, wife's husband Sharnappa died leaving behind his wife and three daughters as the surviving memers of his family .

His entire property was to be equally divided among the remaining four members. But Sharnappa's wife adopted a son 14 years after she lost her husband leading to a legal fight among the family members after Sharnappa's daughters and their legal heirs sought their share in the property.

The trial court ruled against the adopted son. However, the order was challenged in Karnataka high court, which set aside the lower court verdict. After proper examination, SC held that the HC order was wrong and restored the trial court verdict.