Property lawTPAAllahabad High Court

Kashi Prasad v Chhabi Nath

AIR 1937 Allahabad 28719371 min read
The case in brief30-second read
Facts
Property was gifted subject to a condition subsequent: if the donee ever sold or mortgaged the property, it would revert to the donor. The donee mortgaged the property.
Issue
Whether a condition subsequent prohibiting all alienation (sale, mortgage, gift) attached to a gift is valid and enforceable.
Held
The condition subsequent is void. It amounts to an absolute restraint on alienation, which S.10 declares void. The transferee takes the property free of the condition and can deal with it as absolute owner. The attempted reversion fails.
Principle
A condition subsequent that absolutely bars alienation is void; the transferee takes property free of the restraint
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Facts

  • Property was gifted subject to a condition subsequent: if the donee ever sold or mortgaged the property, it would revert to the donor
  • The donee mortgaged the property
  • The donor's heirs claimed reversion based on the condition

Issue

  1. Whether a condition subsequent prohibiting all alienation (sale, mortgage, gift) attached to a gift is valid and enforceable.

Held

  • The condition subsequent is void. It amounts to an absolute restraint on alienation, which S.10 declares void. The transferee takes the property free of the condition and can deal with it as absolute owner. The attempted reversion fails.

Ratio decidendi

S.10 strikes at absolute restraints on alienation regardless of whether they are framed as conditions precedent, conditions subsequent, or standalone clauses. The right of alienation is an incident of ownership; once ownership is transferred, conditions that negate this fundamental right are repugnant and void.

Exam use

How to use it in an answer

Use when discussing interplay of S.10 (restraint) and S.26 (condition subsequent). Key line: "A condition subsequent absolutely restraining alienation is void under S.10; the transferee takes free of the condition."

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Citation

Kashi Prasad v. Chhabi Nath AIR 1937 Allahabad 287

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.