Property lawTPAAllahabad High Court

Fateh Singh v Sanwal Singh

(1877) Indian Law Reports 1 Allahabad 7518771 min read
The case in brief30-second read
Facts
Property was transferred to a widow with a condition: if she remarries, the property shall revert to the transferor's heirs. The widow remarried. The transferor's heirs claimed reversion based on the remarriage condition.
Issue
Whether a condition attached to a property transfer requiring a widow not to remarry is a valid condition or an absolute restraint on marriage void under S.29.
Held
The condition is void under S.29. It amounts to an absolute restraint on marriage. The widow takes the property free of the condition and retains it regardless of remarriage.
Principle
A condition restraining a widow's remarriage attached to a property transfer is void as an absolute restraint on marriage
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Facts

  • Property was transferred to a widow with a condition: if she remarries, the property shall revert to the transferor's heirs
  • The widow remarried
  • The transferor's heirs claimed reversion based on the remarriage condition

Issue

  1. Whether a condition attached to a property transfer requiring a widow not to remarry is a valid condition or an absolute restraint on marriage void under S.29.

Held

  • The condition is void under S.29. It amounts to an absolute restraint on marriage. The widow takes the property free of the condition and retains it regardless of remarriage.

Ratio decidendi

S.29 TPA invalidates conditions that absolutely restrain marriage. A condition that property shall be forfeited on remarriage effectively forces the transferee to choose between property and the fundamental right to marry. Such conditions are void as being against public policy.

Exam use

How to use it in an answer

Use in problems involving conditions attached to gifts/transfers to widows. Key line: "A condition requiring a widow not to remarry to retain property is void under S.29 as an absolute restraint on marriage."

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Citation

Fateh Singh v. Sanwal Singh (1877) Indian Law Reports 1 Allahabad 75

Reported: Avatar Singh, Law of Transfer of Property. This is an educational summary, not the judgment itself. Cite the reported version in professional or academic work.