Family Law – II Syllabus

Version: 2.0 (2017) Course Code: SLL 3716

Credits: 04 L T P: 4 0 0

Objective:
Study of Family Law is Unique. It is very different from rest of the civil laws in many ways.
This branch of law touches each and every individual of the society. It governs an integral
part of the life of the individual. In India there is no uniform family law which is applicable
to all. We have a spectrum of personal laws. Each community has its own personal law and
governed by it. The course is designed to analyze the presence of different personal laws for
different community to and to discuss in detail the personal laws of Hindus and Muslims.

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this course the students will be able to:
1. Understand why different religious people are governed by different personal laws.
2. Understand how these different personal laws have evolved and how the courts
enforce different personal laws for different individuals depending on the religion to
which he/she belong.
3. Analyze the laws related to devolution of ancestral or coparcenary property,
succession to separate property of a Hindu and the Muslim law relating to gifts, wills
and inheritance.
Scheme:
This course is comprised of about 60 lectures of 50 minutes duration divided into Six units
with 9-10 lectures in each unit.

Course Contents:

Part I - Hindu Law

Unit I- Joint Family and Coparcenary
A. Joint Family
1. Joint family- Origin its nature and constitution
2. Characteristic Features of Joint family and Coparcenary
3. Rights of coparceners
4. Coparcenary within coparcenary
B. Classification of property
1. Joint family property and Separate Property
2. Obstructed and unobstructed property
 C. Alienation of Coparcenary property
1. Who may alienate Coparcenary Property
2. Coparcener’s Right to challenge Alienations
3. Alieene’s Right and Remedies
4. Family arrangement or Family settlement
D. Coparceners and Coparcenary property under Dayabhaga Law
1. Distinquishing features of Dayabhaga Joint Family
2. Coparceners according to Dayabhaga Law
Some Important cases
T.V. Subbamma v.T Rattamma (1987) 3 SCC 204
Dipo v. Wassan Singh (1983) 3 SCC 383
Shub Karan Bubna v. Sita Saran Bubna (2009) 9 SCC 689
SR Laddha v. VC Deshmukh (2009) 3 MahLJ 959

E. Debts
1. Liability on different property to clear the debt
2. Pious obligation of son
3. Immoral (avyavaharika) debt
4. Antecedent debt
5. Time barred debt
6. Suretyship debts
7. Dayabhaga Law of debts
F. Partition and Reunion
1. Meaning of partition
2. Subject of partition
3. Person entitled to a share on partition
4. Mode of partition
5. Re-opening of partition
6. Re- Union
Unit - II Woman’s property
1. Two categories of woman’s property
2. Stridhana according to smritikars, commentators and judicial decisions
3. characteristic feature of woman’s Estates

Unit – III The Hindu Succession Act, 1956

 I - Intestate succession
A. Succession to a Hindu Male
1. Heirs of a Hindu Male
2. Class I Heirs and their Shares
3. Class II Heirs and their Shares
4. Agnates and cognates
B. Succession to property of a Hindu Female
1. Property inherited from Father or Mother
2. Property inherited from Husband or Father in Law
C. General rules of Succession
1. Full-blood preferred to half-blood
2. Made of succession of two or more heirs
3. Right of child in womb
4. Disqualifications
II - Testamentary succession
1. Wills and Codicils
2. Definition of will
3. Essential Characteristics of a will
4. Persons capable of making a will
Some Important cases
V. Tusamma v. Sesha Redyy (1977) 3 SCC 99
CM Mudaliar v.Idol of Sri Swaminathaswami Swaminathaswami Thirukoil (1996) 8 SCC
Velamuri v. Sivaprasad v. Kothari Venkateswarlu (2000) 2 SCC 139
Daya Singh v. Dhan Kaur (1974) 1 SCC 700
Subramanian v. Vijayarani (2001) 3 CTC 73
Muslim Law

Unit - IV Gift (Hiba) and Will

1. Definition of Hiba
2. Essentials of a valid Hiba
3. Gift of spes – successionis
4. Doctrine of Musha
5. Revocation of Gifts
6. Irrevocable gifts
7. Definition and Essentials of a will
 8. Subject matter of will
9. Abatement of Legacies
10. Revocation of wills
Unit - V Waqfs
1. Definition of a waqf
2. Essentials of a valid waqf
3. Conditional waqf
4. Waqf by non Muslims
5. Waqf of Musha
6. Objects of waqf
7. Modes of creation of Waqf
8. Doctrine of Cypres
9. Mutawalli
10. Powers and functions of Mutawalli
11. Statutory control of Waqf
Unit – VI Inheritance
1. Pre-Islamic Customs
2. The Islamic Reforms
3. General principles of Inheritance
4. Rules of Exclusion
5. Sunni Law of inheritance
The Sharers
The Residuaries
The Distant Kindreds
6. Shia Law of inheritance
Classification of heirs under shia law
Doctrine of increase
Doctrine of Return

Some Important cases

Smt. Hussenabi v. Husenab Hasan AIR 1989 Kar 218
Gulam Husain Kutbuddin Manner v. Abdul Rashid Abdul Rajak Manner (2000) 8 SCC 507
Mohd. Ismail Faruqui v. Union of India AIR 1994 SC 605 ( Ayodhya Case)
Abdul Hafiz v. Sahebbi AIR (1973) Bom 165
Shehammal v. Hasan Khani Rawther(2011) 9 SCC 223

Examination Scheme:

Component of Evaluation FA-I FA-II FA-III End term Exam Total

Weightage (%) 20 10 10 60 100

Books Recommended
1. A.A.A. Fyzee, Outline of Muhammadan Law
2. Family Law in India by G.C.V. Subba Rao
3. Modern Hindu Law by Paras Diwan
4. Modern Hindu Law by Dr. Kesari
5. Hindu Law by Dr. Sharma
6. J.D.M. Derret, A Critique of Modern Hindu Law, 1970
7. Mayne’s Hindu law
8. Hindu law by Mulla
9. R.K.Agarwala, “Hindu Law”, 20th Ed. Central Law Agency, Allahabad (2002)

Law Commission Reports

1. 66th report on Married women’s property Act

2. 98th report on Section 24 and 26 of Hindu succession Act
3. 174th Law Commission Report (2000) on “Property Rights of Women”, Ministry of
Law, Government of India, New Delhi.
4. 208th report on Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act
5. 207th report on section 15 of Hindu Succession Act

Important Acts

1. The Hindu Succession Act,1956

2. The Indian Succession Act, 1925