Children from Void, Voidable Marriages Are Legitimate, Can Claim Rights in Parents' Properties: SC

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that children from “invalid marriages” are entitled to claim rights in parents’ properties. The apex court’s verdict came on a 2011 plea pertaining to the vexatious legal issue of whether non-marital children were entitled to a share in the ancestral property of their parents under Hindu laws.

A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, in a judgement, said that a child born out of “null and void” marriages is legitimate. “We have now formulated conclusion, 1. A child of a marriage which is null and void is statutorily conferred with the legitimacy, 2. In terms of 16(2) (of the Hindu Marriage Act) where a voidable marriage is annulled, a child begotten before degree is deemed to be legitimate,” the bench stated.

“Equal rights have been granted to daughters in the same manner,” it said.

The top court decided the question whether the share of such children is limited only to the self-acquired property of their parents under Section 16(3) of the Hindu Marriage Act. These questions were referred to a larger bench by a two-judge bench of the apex court on March 31, 2011.