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Family Law II · Unit 2

Joint Family, Coparcenary, Karta and Partition

Unit 2 of Family Law – II (syllabus: Module II — the Mitakshara joint family and coparcenary and their contrast with Dayabhaga; the karta, his powers and liabilities, and whether a woman may be karta; ancestral and separate property; alienation; and partition and reopening). Below: what the unit covers, the provisions it turns on, and the cases an examiner expects you to name.

What this unit covers

  • How does a Mitakshara coparcenary differ from the joint family that contains it?
  • On what grounds may a karta alienate joint family property?
  • What must a purchaser from a karta prove when the alienation is challenged?
  • When are sons liable for their father's debts under the pious obligation?
  • What is an antecedent debt, and what does it allow the father to do?
  • When does a partition take effect?
  • When may a partition be re-opened, and when may separated members reunite?
  • How does the notional partition under s. 6 quantify what a coparcener leaves?

Treat that list as a self-test: recite each topic's rule from memory before you open its cases.

Provisions

  • Hindu Succession Act 1956, s. 6, as substituted by Act 39 of 2005
  • Uncodified Mitakshara law, as applied by the courts, s. Apatkale, kutumbarte and dharmarthe
  • Uncodified Mitakshara law, as applied by the courts, s. The rule in Hanuman Prasad's case
  • Hindu Succession Act 1956, s. 6(4), as substituted by Act 39 of 2005
  • Uncodified Mitakshara law, as applied by the courts, s. The five propositions in Brij Narain
  • Uncodified Mitakshara law, as applied by the courts, s. Division of status; Appovier's case
  • Uncodified Mitakshara law, as applied by the courts, s. Re-opening and reunion
  • Hindu Succession Act 1956, s. 6(3) and its Explanation, as substituted by Act 39 of 2005

Leading cases

Full case summaries

Exam questions on this unit

In this paper