Raje Anandrao v. Shamrao

AIR 1961 Supreme Court 1206Supreme Court of India1961Property Law
property-lawTPAsection-13unborn-person

Rule established

Interest created for unborn person must be the whole remaining interest; a life estate to unborn violates S.13 TPA

Facts

  • A transfer deed created a life estate in favor of A (living person), then a life estate in favor of A's unborn son, then absolute interest to A's unborn grandson
  • The question was whether the life estate created for A's unborn son was valid under S.13

Issue

  1. Whether an interest less than the whole remaining interest (a life estate) can be validly created for a person not in existence at the date of transfer.

Held

  • The transfer to the unborn son (life estate only) is void under S.13. The section mandates that the interest for the unborn person must extend to the whole of the remaining interest of the transferor. Since only a life estate was given to the unborn son (not absolute ownership), S.13 is violated. The subsequent transfer to the grandson also fails.

Ratio Decidendi

S.13 requires that the unborn person must receive the entire remaining interest of the transferor. This means only an absolute interest can be created for an unborn person. The policy is to prevent property from being tied up across multiple unborn generations through successive limited interests.

How to use it in an exam

Use in any problem on S.13 where the transfer gives less than absolute interest to an unborn person. Key line: "Only the whole remaining interest (absolute interest) can be created for an unborn person; a life estate to unborn is void under S.13."

Source

Source: Mulla TPA 13th ed.

This is an educational summary, not the judgment itself. Cite the reported version in professional or academic work.

Cited in study notes

Transfer to Unborn PersonsS.13 requirement of whole remaining interest