SC says Class I heirs get first right before inherited farmland is sold

The apex court held that Section 22 of the Hindu Succession Act applies to inherited agricultural land, giving Class I heirs the first opportunity to purchase a co-heir's share

The Supreme Court has ruled that Class I legal heirs enjoy a preferential right to purchase inherited agricultural land if another heir decides to sell his or her share, holding that Section 22 of the Hindu Succession Act (HSA) extends to agricultural land inherited under the Act.

 

The judgment means that when a Class I heir proposes to transfer an inherited share in agricultural land, other Class I heirs must first be given the opportunity to purchase that interest before it can be sold to an outsider.

  Class I heirs include the deceased's spouse, children and mother, who are the first in line to inherit property where there is no will.

 

  A Bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and N Kotiswar Singh dismissed an appeal challenging the applicability of Section 22 to agricultural land. The court upheld the claim of a co-heir who sought to enforce the statutory right after several siblings sold their inherited shares in agricultural land to a third party.

  Section 22 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, grants Class I legal heirs a preferential right to purchase inherited immovable property or a business if a co-heir decides to sell his or her share.

  The Bench held that once agricultural land devolves by succession under the Hindu Succession Act, it is not excluded from the operation of Section 22 merely because it is agricultural property. The provision, the court said, is intended to preserve the integrity of inherited property by giving co-heirs the first opportunity to acquire the share proposed to be transferred. 

Rejecting the constitutional challenge to Section 22, the court clarified that its earlier Constitution Bench ruling striking down parts of the Punjab Pre-emption Act had no bearing on the validity of the Hindu Succession Act provision. 

The judges observed that the Punjab law had been invalidated because it created an unreasonable classification, whereas Section 22 applies uniformly to all Class I heirs and does not suffer from the same constitutional infirmity. 

The ruling reinforces the statutory protection available to Class I heirs and is expected to guide future disputes involving the sale of inherited agricultural land to third parties.