No Need To Appoint Guardian In Case Of Hindu Minor's Interest In Undivided Joint Family Property: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that in case of a Hindu minor's interest in the undivided joint family property, no guardian can be appointed to manage such interests. It held that the same will be taken care by the adult member of the family, as per Section 12 of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956Justice Rohit Ranjan Agrawal held“it is clear that in case a minor has an interest in joint family property, it is the adult member who is either male or female, would take care of the property and there is no need for appointment of any guardian.”Appellant-widowed mother of a minor girl filed an application before Court of Additional District and Sessions Judge, Muzaffar Nagar seeking declaration of her being the natural guardian of her daughter and permission to sell the property belonging to the minor. Mother of the deceased, grandmother of the minor, was also arrayed as a party and gave no objection for the same. However, the Court only appointed the appellant as the natural guardian and did not grant her the right to sell the minor's property. Aggrieved, the appellant approached the High Court. Perusing Section 6 of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, the Court noted that the natural guardian of a minor girl child is the father and after him the mother. However, if the child has not completed the age of 5 years, then the mother will ordinarily have the custody of the child. Section 8 provides the powers of a natural guardian, which include the power to sell, lease, transfer, mortgage, etc. any part of the immovable property of the minor with prior permission of the Court. Section 12 of the Act provides that where the interest of the minor is in a joint family property, no guardian shall be appointed for the minor for such undivided interest. The Court held that since the father had died, the mother was the natural guardian of the minor girl as per Section 6 of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956. However, it held that since the interest of the minor was in undivided joint family property, which was being managed by the mother itself, the case fell within Section 12 of Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956 for consideration. Since the application was made under Section 8 read with Section 10 of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, the Court held that it could not be read in isolation from provisions of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956 which were applicable on a Hindu minor. “Section 8 and 12 of the Act of 1956 cannot be read in isolation. Moreso, if an application has been made under the Act of 1890 under Section 8 read with Section 10 in respect of a Hindu minor, provisions as contained in the Act of 1956 has to be considered while a guardian is being appointed as Section 2 and Section 8(5) clearly spells out that Act of 1890 is supplemental to the Act of 1956.”Observing that the mother wanted to sell the property for higher education of the minor daughter, the Court held that acting as the natural guardian and the manager of the property as an adult member in an undivided joint family property, the mother-appellant could sell the property for the welfare of the child. Accordingly, the appeal was allowed. Case Title: Doli vs. Shakuntla Devi 2026 LiveLaw (AB) 151Case citation: 2026 LiveLaw (AB) 151Click Here To Read/Download Order

No Need To Appoint Guardian In Case Of Hindu Minor's Interest In Undivided Joint Family Property: Allahabad High Court

Upasna Agrawal

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