Muslim law bars elder brother from selling minor siblings’ land: Gauhati HC
The Gauhati high court upheld a woman's land ownership acquired in 1975. The court found the sale invalid for minor shares but acknowledged prolonged possession. Family members challenging the sale were deemed late in their legal action. The woman's continuous possession for over thirty years proved decisive. Her successors are entitled to recover the land's possession.
The Gauhati High Court has upheld a woman's ownership of a piece of land she purchased in 1975, despite attempts by her elder brother and four minor siblings to challenge the sale. Tarubala Saha, the landowner, claimed she had been cultivating the land for over 30 years and had her name registered in the land records. The court found that her purchase was valid for her own share, but not for her siblings' shares, as they were minors at the time of purchase.
The court also ruled that Nagar Ali, the brother of the minor siblings, could not legally sell the shares of his younger siblings under Islamic law. The defendants had argued that Nagar Ali had no right to sell their shares and had not been appointed as their guardian by a court, but their claims were dismissed as they failed to contest the sale within the legal time frame after turning adults or after the land was transferred to Saha.
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