JAMMU: The high court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has restored a woman’s right to inherit her father’s property after a 44-year-long legal battle, holding that an adverse revenue entry recorded during when she was a minor cannot automatically defeat a legitimate inheritance claim on limitation grounds.The dispute dates back to Sept 14, 1982, when Themu, daughter of late Sonu, filed a civil suit claiming half share in land measuring 58 kanals and 11 marlas left behind by her father.She challenged mutation no. 43 dated Oct 15, 1966, which had been entered exclusively in favour of one Shib Devi and sought declaration of her inheritance rights along with consequential possession.
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On March 9, 2004, the sub-judge court in Kishtwar passed a decree recognising her entitlement. However, the district judge reversed the decree on Nov 7, 2012, primarily on the grounds of limitation and failure to establish paternity.Justice Shahzad Azeem of the HC, while allowing the appeal filed by Themu, set aside the judgment of the district judge, Kishtwar, observing that limitation cannot be determined on presumptions and conjectures, particularly where the claimant was a minor when her rights were initially disputed and the defendants failed to establish when the cause of action actually arose.
